


RWBY June Art Challenge Fics

by GoneRampant



Category: Destiny (Video Game), RWBY
Genre: In which Amber has no patience for people who go down from a fucking headcold, In which Blake is impossible while drunk, In which Cinder casually sips her drink as her friend shoots a man dead in front of her, In which Coco is an easily flustered Tsundere who swears like a sailor, In which Emerald's fucked up but Weiss is there to help her, In which Jaune blueballs Pyrrha so hard she plays for the other team, In which Mercury and Yang spend the night in jail, In which Oscar nearly dooms Remnant by pissing off a drunk birb through flirting with his niece, In which Ozpin's entire life is just good ideas at the time that turn out awful later, In which Raven stays and grows to care while getting punched in the face a lot, In which Ruby lies about having a mommy kink just to fuck with Yang, In which Scarlet is just Gavin getting his ass kicked in an alternate reality, In which Summer goes on that fateful mission, In which Torchwick turns a shitty hand dealt by life into a royal flush, In which Weiss goes to an opera, In which Zwei has no shits about your important battle he just wants to DANCE, In which karma comes calling for Cinder and its stripper name is Amber, Multi, RWBY June Art Challenge, Tags will be added as each snippet is uploaded
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-07 19:34:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 45,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11065689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoneRampant/pseuds/GoneRampant
Summary: Inspired bythisart challenge. I'm gonna try to make a short fic for at least most of these over the course of June.





	1. Favorite Character: Amber

******Chapter 1: Favorite Character**

* * *

When Amber first received the Fall Maiden powers, she burned a forest down.

Oz and Qrow would later explain it- something about how the powers worked and the seasons from which they drew power meant that Winter and Spring had much more subdued awakenings, while Fall and Summer were vibrant, needing to release the newfound energy that they possessed. But at the time, Amber knew nothing about literal myths come to life, or decades-old conspiracies built around protecting those myths and preserving the masquerade. She was just a normal student of Shade Academy in her third year, out in the woods.

It had been just another day, on just another mission in the forests near Vacuo's border. Amber was alone since the rest of the team had come down with various illnesses, and it was decided (Mostly for Amber's mental health and to avoid her getting infected) that the risk of a case of the sniffles compromising the operation was too high. And so, Amber found herself making her way silently through the forest, wiping her brow for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. Much as she adored her green cloak, it may not have been a good idea to bring it on this day, with the sun hanging in the sky, the wind refusing to blow through and the tree canopy keeping the heat inside the forest. It was a truly sweltering day, and the forest was dry and humid. As much as Amber adored nature and the woods, and as thankful as she was for this rare chance to go alone and just enjoy the forest in silence... some days were not designed to be outside in.

And Amber was allowed to bitch about heat- she was from Vacuo, a desert nation. Much like how those from Atlas were the resident experts on complaining about the cold, Vauco natives were the only people who were allowed to seriously say that a day was too hot.

She was broken out of her train of thought by something flying overhead, catching her eye purely because it seemed to have the energy to move through this humid heat that made her want to find a tree with long, reaching branches and take a nap. It looked like a beam of golden light that was shooting through the sky. And yet, it seemed primarily... aimless. Like it was flying at random, unable to decide where it wanted to go. But regardless, Amber did notice with a slight twinge of apprehension that it was going lower and lower, now equal to the tips of the trees... and it was coming closer. 

On the first day of training at Shade Academy, each student was forced to fight an entire team of students from at least a year above them. Amber had been unlucky enough to draw the short straw, and had to fight an actual teacher. The point of the exercise was to learn that not every fight could be won and that, as was highlighted by the open door leading out of the classroom, there was no shame in running. In running, you could change the battlefield to a locale of your choice, allowing you to highlight your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

That lesson ran through Amber's head as she saw the streak of gold energy drifting closer, before she turned on her heel and started running. She could fight Grimm, and she could fight people. But floating gold orbs of potential death were not on that list for a reason.

She vaulted over a tree, her shadow elongating as the light grew closer. Despite the suffocating heat she pushed through it and ran like the wind, cloak billowing behind her and hood falling off the top of her head. But as fast as she was, she was but one person holding up the cogwheels of destiny, however temporarily. And destiny always finds a way to keep the wheels rolling.

The energy flowed in front of her, manifesting into a singular golden sphere the size of her heart. She tried to redirect, but too little too late, and she ran straight into the sphere, lodging it in her chest. Despite the humid heat of the forest, it began to burn, hotter than Amber had ever felt before.

She fell onto her back, hands scrambling along the dirt for purchase on anything to hold as the heat turned searingly painful, like a hot poker was being shoved down her throat and taking all the moisture within as it did. A gold flash behind her eyes made her shut them momentarily, a low groan escaping her lips. More of those damnable streaks of energy flew around her, almost like a barrier. They began to speed up, like they were waiting for a chance to explode outwards.

Amber's eyes snapped open, her eyes shrouded in that energy. She screamed herself hoarse, as her world became one of fire and pain.

* * *

 

She came to slowly, nose filled with the smell of embers lingering in the air. Her ears still rang, the low echo of crackling wood echoing through the empty space. Amber looked around, dread settling in the depths of her stomach as she was met with the sight of blackened tree stumps. Where once there was nearly every shade of green imaginable, there was now just grey soil and black stumps as far as her eyes could see, barring a circular patch she was lying in. 

Her hands went to her mouth as she tried to choke back a sob. This had to all be one giant nightmare. She'd wake up soon and tell her team about it, they'd all get a laugh out of it before Cerise would say something dumb and Amber would shut her up by kissing her-

"This wasn't your fault."

She wheeled around , turning to find a man with dark hair, red eyes and a white shirt staring sadly at her from one of the stumps. He held a canteen in his hand, held loosely by his hip. 

"I..." she started to talk only to begin coughing hoarsely, throat desperate for water. The man darted forward, holding out the canteen. 

"Here. You need this more than I do."

A voice in the back of Amber's mind pointed out that this screamed 'bad idea,' given how this could easily be poisoned, but that was stamped out by the furious, burning thirst that demanded to be sated. She snatched it out of the man's hand and gulped it down, not even breathing for a few minutes as she drained it dry. She handed it back.

"I..." she felt at her throat. "How long have I been out?" 

"I dunno, only came across you a few minutes ago. My scroll's been telling me that this forest went up in smoke about thirty-six hours ago."

Part of her latched on to that- why would he be wandering around? " _God._ Did I... Did I do this?"

He fixed her with a sad look. "Would you prefer if I lie?" 

Amber exhaled. "I'm not a child. Just give it to me straight."

"Then yes, you did this." He put a hand on Amber's shoulder as she let out a sob. "But you didn't mean to. You drew the short straw on the roulette wheel of life, kid, and now you've got some powers that people are gonna try to kill you over. There's someone who can explain everything, but you'll need to come with me." He drew himself up. "My name's Qrow. I'm here to help you."

"I was on a mission," Amber said quietly. "for my school. If I go with you, will I be able to contact them?"

"..." Qrow's silence said it all.

Amber sighed, swallowed down her tears, and grabbed her staff. She checked her cape, and picked herself up. "How far is this person who can answer my questions?"

"Beacon."

"And how important are these... powers?"

"The fate of the world may or may not be resting on keeping those powers out of the hands of some bad people."

She took in the forest around her, the dead twigs crunching underfoot. "Can they teach me to control the powers? So I don't ever do this to anyone again?"

"Yeah, he can. And he'll do his damnedest to keep you alive."

"Then I'll take that chance. Let's get going." She was still speaking quietly, just audible over the sounds of the forest, but her shoulders had set and her eyes had hardened. Qrow nodded, and the two took off. 

"You said your name was Qrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Amber. What can you tell me yourself about all this stuff yourself?"

He drew in a breath, exhaled. "What's your favorite fairytale?" He finally asked after a moment of silence. 

* * *

**OK, so honesty corner. Amber's not really my favorite character in RWBY- I don't actually know who it is, but my money's on Qrow or Torchwick. Thing is? Both of them are likely going to show up down the line since I already have most of the dates sketched out as to each prompt, so I felt it redundant to give one of them two focus stories. Ergo, I went down the list, and Amber was near enough to the top that I shrugged and went "Why not?"**

**Though I do have to give Rooster Teeth credit when it came to Amber- I find it amazing how much I like her as a character given she had all of six minutes of screentime outside of a tube. Chalk it up to a stellar design and fantastic fight scene that actually made me feel bummed out when that bitch in the red dress shot her.**

**Anyway, June 2nd requires a snip on Team RWBY. And I don't know about you? But I feel like a trip to the opera's in order.**


	2. RWBY Character: Weiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss goes to the theater and gets a rare insight into her mother.

Weiss had very few positive memories of her childhood. Much of her life before Beacon could be surmised as cold and sterile, particularly after Winter abandoned her inheritance and left to join the Specialists. Even before the White Fang began their terror attacks on the SDC and her family, making her father resemble the ice fields that adorned Atlas more and more each and every day, the Schnee house was not one where laughter and joy were commonplace.

She remembered when she was ten; Winter was home and her father was away on a business trip, prompting her mother to organize a trip for the Schnee siblings and Klein to a local opera. Weiss had several reasons to remember the trip, one of which being the freak heatwave that had ravaged Atlas for that winter. The style at the time for members of high society was traditionally fur-lined coats that reached to the kneecaps, but judging by the both the sparseness of coats in the coat-rack room, and the board expression of the employee who took Klein and Whitley's jackets, no one had brought their coats with them tonight. The other was that, thinking honestly to herself, this was one of those very few positive memories she did cherish. No White Fang, no SDC politics, no Jacques... just her, Winter, Whitney, her mother and Klein out for a night at the theater. 

They were escort to the near top of the opera hall, seats that granted a view over much of the hall and prevented any large heads from obstructing vision. Klein sat with Whitley on his lap, enrapturing the young boy with a near endless stream of stories whispered into his ear to help him with all the events that the young boy would not have to care for (Or at least look like he cared) for another few years. Willow had the center-most seat, flanked by several guards, while Weiss and Winter were to the right.

Weiss had a fondness for music, and the orchestra danced and soared with the opera singers; the cellos and sopranos, the war-drums and the basses, the flutes and tenors. Every note was tonally perfect, every movement staged and practiced so many times it had transcended muscle memory. Yet in spite of how practiced and fluid these technicians were, it did not feel staged or soulless. 

There was but one problem. It was in the old tongue, one of the old languages Atlas had used before a common language had been settled on following the Great War. While Weiss could see how much work had gone into this production, the countless hours spent mastering the dances and reading the music, it irked her young mind throughout the first several acts that she could not understand the story or themes and solidify her appreciation for it. 

At the interval, Weiss felt slight tap on the shoulder; Winter looked over at her, a slight frown on her features. "Is something wrong? You seem to be lost in thought."

"It's nothing important. Nothing worth speaking of."

Winter gave her what Weiss mentally referred to as her Big Sister Look, or as Ruby would later call it in the years to come, the 'I know you're trying to bullshit me, but I've been in your spot before so it isn't going to work,' Look. "Weiss, I don't appreciate being humored." 

"I... of course. My apologies."

That Weiss had grown so formal in Winter's absence seemed to make her look away for a second, muttering something under her breath. She regained her composure. "Please Weiss. There's no harm in just speaking with me, the interval will last for a few more minutes."

"I..." she relented. "I don't like that I cannot understand the singers. They put so much passion into their performance, all of the performers are operating at peak efficiency, but... I wish to know what they sing of that unites all of these musicians together." She tried to make a dismissive waving gesture. "I'm still enjoying myself, Winter. It's nothing to get worked up about."

"That is what bothers you?"

"You see? What a trivial matter to get agitated over."

"Well, I can translate it for you. Not the whole thing, of course, but I can send you a translation of the script when we return home. And I speak enough that I can surmise the plot up to now."

"Oh?" She sat up straight in her seat. "Well, if it isn't too much trouble, Winter..." 

She trailed off awkwardly, but Winter simply smiled. "It's no trouble at all. Now, you remembered the woman in stark white with the red sash?"

Weiss nodded. 

"She is the mother of the rest of the main cast- with the yellow, purple and black sashes that wear their hair to the side. She worries that her husband, the king of a land, is becoming a corrupt tyrant that will take his rage out on his children. Thus, she begins to teach them in secret and inspire them to one day take power from their father and restore peace to the land."

Weiss was a more simple soul then. Not quite old enough to fully grasp the world around her, but still sharp enough to grasp what was right in front of her. "Oh," she whispered. "But then why would mother-" the penny dropped, and Weiss exhaled a quiet "ah," that carried much in the monosyllabic sound. 

Winter merely nodded as Klein returned with Whitley, right before the curtains rose and the show began anew, now with Weiss enraptured as Winter loosely translated the plot as it occurred. She cried at the tragedies, suppressed her laughter at the comedic moments, and rose with the audience to grant the crew an encore. Even her mother was smiling as they left the theater.

Winter, true to her word, bought her the book the next day, and Weiss spent the day reading it in her room, her mind recreating the music as best as it could.

The next day, she wore her ponytail on the side and asked if she could receive lessons on singing. 

* * *

**I feel like Weiss is going to be the under-appreciated member of RWBY for day 2 at least in the circle of artists I follow, so I threw her a bone. Weiss may in fact be my favorite RWBY team member regardless, so this was an easy choice. I do feel it's a little short though, so sorry. But I guess better than being a little too short than going too long and into too much detail... at least that's what I'm telling myself.**

**Anyway, June 3rd will cover a member of JNPR. And I feel like going a little AU for tomorrow...**

 


	3. Chapter 3: JNPR/RNJR team member (Pyrrha/Ruby)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Pyrrha does ask someone to the dance, and Jaune doesn't have to wear a dress, but has to wear the embarrassing hat of realization.
> 
> Heavily inspired by [this comic.](http://dashingicecream.tumblr.com/post/136560795892/bigenderninja-that-when-youre-tall-no-one)

"Practice what you preach, Pyrrha," Nora muttered under her breath. Pyrrha, hands on the chair she was about to sit on, stiffened. 

"I'm... going to go for a walk. I should be back before it gets dark." Without waiting for Ren (In the middle of pulling his shirt on) or Nora to respond, Pyrrha left, wandering aimlessly down the hall.

She just wanted to be a good friend to Jaune, her brain kept saying. They were partners- if a romantic relationship didn't work out between them, it would only lead to an awkward next few years where every day she and he would need to look that embarrassment of an attempt at love in the face. Times like this, Pyrrha mused, were probably why Ren and Nora never made it official. 

But the brain and the heart are two different organs... one of which really shouldn't be capable on weighing in on matters of love, but analogies exist for a reason. 

She found herself on the rooftop over the JNPR and RWBY dorm. A roof that Pyrrha spent most nights on training with Jaune, but he was too busy getting rejected by Weiss because Weiss had a reasonable head on her shoulders and was capable of honesty-

Pyrrha at this point noticed the soft groaning of the metallic objects near her, and she turned her Semblance off again. "Opps," she muttered to herself.

"Oh, no trouble."

Pyrrha jumped as she took in Ruby, lying down on a bench and staring up at the moon. "Ruby! I'm sorry, I'll go someplace else-"

"Nah, it's fine. I can make room!" The hooded huntress scooted up, tapping the side of the bench she had vacated expectantly. "You look like you need to talk to someone, at least before my cape buckles try to strangle me again."

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha replied meekly.

"No harm no foul! Come on, sit down. You don't wanna leave me here, all alone, do you?"

A blush came to Pyrrha's cheeks at Ruby's sentence, more for the tone. It was a playful remark, and Ruby likely didn't mean it as anything but, but... gods, Pyrrha must have been desperate if she took a friendly invitation to sit down as something to blush over like some doe-eyed maiden in those light novels Blake read during Port's classes when she thought no one was looking. Ruby was an attractive woman, though, which didn't help matters. 

She was over-thinking this. She sat down, watching the moon with Ruby in silence for a few minutes. 

"So..." Ruby trailed off. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"It's nothing Ruby. Just a problem within the team." 

"Pyrrha, no offense, but I haven't seen you get worked up like that since you fought CRDL. You don't get angry. Come on, a little weight off your chest isn't the worst idea in the world."

"I suppose... It's about Jaune."

Ruby nodded. "He's still going after Weiss?"

"How did you know that?"

"Weiss's partner, remember? She's been, uh, vocal, that's the word, about his attempts."

Pyrrha smirked slightly. "I take it she's not impressed."

"If by 'not impressed,' you mean 'ready to kill,' yeah. That really sums it up."

Pyrrha sighed. "I wish him... the best in his romantic endeavors."

Ruby tried to hide her smile, ultimately giving up. "That might have sounded more genuine if you hadn't cringed saying it."

Pyrrha's head fell into her hands. "It's that obvious, isn't it?"

A hand clapped her shoulder. "Cheer up Pyrrha! There's plenty of fish in the sea. A girl like you should have all the boys and girls swept off their feet."

"Were it so easy," she muttered in response. She decided to change the subject. "So, I hear your team is organizing the dance tomorrow?"

"Yep. Gotta say, Weiss was a godsend. We wouldn't be nearly half done if it wasn't for her. You all set?"

Pyrrha nodded. "I got my dress today with Nora. You?"

Ruby shrugged. "It's nice enough, but..." she looked warily over her shoulder before leaning in to whisper, "I hate heels."

At Pyrrha's chuckle, Ruby leaned back. "Seriously, how do you fight in those things? I tried them on earlier and nearly toppled over like a tower!"

"It requires practice, I'll admit. But I've grown to like them."

"Not sure why, you're already so tall it's just overkill." 

"I believe I heard Yang once say," Pyrrha adopted a bad impression of Yang, "overkill is underrated!"

Ruby giggled, covering her mouth. "Yeah, yeah. I'm guessing with Jaune being... well, Jaune, that you've not got anyone to go with?"

"No," Pyrrha sighed again, "and now I'm worried that I'll be a third wheel for Ren and Nora."

"You're not a third wheel! You're awesome Pyrrha. You'll find someone, or Jaune will stop ignoring the flashing neon signs."

"You really think so?"

Ruby faltered. "... I guess we can hope?" 

 

"I've just sort of _lost_ hope, honestly. People want to get to know Pyrrha Nikos, arena fighter and mascot of cereal brands that are severely unhealthy. Jaune was one of the first people I met who wanted to get to know Pyrrha Nikos, the person. He didn't care for my titles, or want me as a partner for combat reasons. He just wanted to get to know me. I thought that meant something, but I guess I was mistaken." A third sigh. "What about you then? Anyone catch your eye?"

Ruby casually shrugged. She tried to, at least "Nah, those kinds of things just don't interest me. Guess I haven't met the right person. I'm fine with it, even though Yang is going with Blake and Weiss has Neptune."

It would have been a truth had her tiny fists not bundled up a part of her skirt. Pyrrha frowned. "Is something wrong?" 

"It's just that... my mom and dad were on the same team, but they only realized that they cared for each other that way during a big dance. I guess I was hoping history would repeat."

Pyrrha hesitated, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder as the younger girl looked down, a blush forming. "Sorry, didn't mean to say that. It's just... wow, I'm a real klutz, aren't I?"

"Wear heels all the time," Pyrrha smiled, "and no one will notice. Though I've noticed that you tend to not get asked to many dances."

Ruby tentatively smiled at Pyrrha. "Then can I ask you to the dance?" she blurted out, hand covering her mouth in shock.

Pyrrha blinked, which at that exact point was the only thing her brain could do. She knew Ruby hadn't expressed interest either way in terms of gender, maybe she was too young to realize what she was asking, oh _God_ , Yang was going to kill her-

But why not, her heart seemed to whisper in her ear. Jaune's too blind to see a runaway bus, stop pining after someone who doesn't reciprocate your feelings and have fun with someone who can?

She smiled at the young Huntress. "Why not?" 

Ruby's hand lowered slowly from her mouth. "Seriously?" She whispered. "But you're all tall and strong and beautiful while I'm small and skinny and  _small_ -"

"Ruby." Pyrrha raised a hand to cut off her rambling. "I would be delighted to attend the dance with you, if you'll have me."

"I..." Ruby's brain seemed to short out for a moment before focus returned to her silver eyes. "What kind of idiot would reject that proposal?"

Both stopped blushing for a second to consider that they, in fact, knew such an idiot, before laughing.

Ruby stood up. "I'd better get my dress ready then. Will you mind if I don't wear heels? I think Weiss has some flats I can borrow"

"Only if you mind me picking you up mid-dance and twirling you around."

Pyrrha mentally slapped herself as Ruby took off in a stream of rose petals, face almost beetroot read. She groaned softly, putting her face in her hands.

* * *

 

The next day saw Pyrrha doing everything within her power to avoid eye, physical or verbal contact with Ruby Rose until it was time for the dance. She nearly succeeded in this endeavor, but for the actions of Yang Xiao-Long, who Pyrrha suspected was the reincarnated devil.

Said demonic entity in human form was leaning against Pyrrha's locker, smirking like the cat got its cream (Which, Pyrrha mused mentally, would likely be happening to Blake after the dance wrapped up). Why she was wearing sunglasses on a day that, while warm, was far from bright was anyone's guess.

"Hey Pyrrha," Yang drawled. "So I saw little Rubes flustered and panicking, and it turns out she asked you to the dance?"

Pyrrha swallowed as she considered what to say that would give her the longest life expectancy. "Yes Yang, she did," she responded flatly. 

"Yeah, I knew that. So... why, pray tell, did you say yes?" 

"Because..." She looked away at the rapidly retreating hallway that did not care to be listed as 'collateral damage.' "Because I want to take her for a dance, potentially even take her out on dates after that if she enjoys tonight. Because I like your sister, Yang, and it's about time I stop waiting for someone to come along."

Yang's smirked faded for a second before fixing Pyrrha with a look from over the glasses. "You serious about that?"

"From the bottom of my heart."

"You'll care for her?"

"Like she was my own flesh and blood."

The smirk was back, and Yang exited her leaning position. "Alright then. Have fun tonight Pyrrha. But if you hurt her in any way, shape or form..."

"You, in and of yourself, are a large reason why I had not acted on this prior to last night."

Yang frowned. "Am I that scary?"

"Bluntly? _Yes_." 

"Huh," Yang muttered, walking off abruptly. Pyrrha shook her head, before opening her locker and stuffing her books in. 

* * *

"You'll be fine, Pyrrha." Ren was a lighthouse in Pyrrha's time of need, emotionally stable and providing a calming, soothing presence with his words. 

That he was the only other person on JNPR that knew how to straighten Pyrrha's hair was also a great benefit. 

"But, it's so sudden! I'm not ready, how will we dance-"

A hand was clamped over her mouth. Nora fixed her with a glare. "Pyrrha, shut up. You're gonna go to that dance hall, you're gonna find Ruby, and you're gonna dance her socks off! And if you don't, then damnit you tried and that's all you could be expected to do!"

"... Who are you and what have you done with Nora?" Jaune asked, deadpan, earning a glare from Nora as she turned to face Jaune, hands on her hips. He turned to Pyrrha, shooting her a hopeful smile. "But seriously, what Nora said. You're gonna be great, Pyrrha. And hey! You managed to get a date! Told you you'd get one!"

She smiled, gently, at him. "You did indeed, Jaune."

"It is a shame though," Ren said in his typical deadpan, "that the school will now never get to see Jaune in a dress."

"There's always next year," Jaune chuckled, "I'm a sucker for a good bet."

"I'll remember that," Ren muttered. His hands left Pyrrha's hair and he tapped her gently on the shoulder. "You're all set Pyrrha. Break a leg, ideally not yours."

"Unless I impale Ruby's foot on these heels, that shouldn't be a problem." 

* * *

 

Pyrrha did have to give Weiss credit, she had organised a magnificent event. Yang met her with a smirk at the door as JNPR entered, Blake was chatting with Sun and Weiss with Neptune, but no Ruby.

Yang caught Pyrrha's expression. "She's just chatting with Ozpin by the punch bowl. Knock her dead, buddy." 

"Thanks, I think." Pyrrha split off from her group and made her way around, spying Ozpin and...

Oh. Well. Pyrrha liked to think she could articulate well, but there was no other way to say it; Ruby was drop-dead beautiful tonight. Rather embarrassingly, she got so caught off guard by it that she missed Ozpin walking by entirely until he stopped beside her. 

"I do hope you enjoy yourself miss Nikos. It's rare for one to get a night entirely free of the normal stresses of life." 

And like that he was gone, leaving Pyrrha to muster her courage and come up beside her. 

"Pyrrha! Hey." 

"Hey yourself. You're looking incredible tonight." 

Ruby twisted a strand of hair around a finger. "Eh, compared to you? I'm wearing trash."

Pyrrha looked up as a song she knew and loved came on through the speakers. "I disagree, and I could spend all night trying to persuade you otherwise, but I adore this song." She held out a hand, bending slightly. "May I have this dance?"

"Uh, yeah! Let's do this!" Ruby placed her hand in Pyrrhas as they moved to the dancefloor.

Pyrrha grabbed her by the shoulders, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "That's good to hear, because I do remember a promise I made last night to twirl you around." 

Ruby gaped for a second, only to start shrieking in laughter as Pyrrha did indeed pick her up and begin to twirl her around the dancefloor. "Pyrrha, wait, I'm gonna be sick! Pyrrhaaaaaa!"

Pyrrha laughed with her, letting herself succumb to the moment as the two danced the night away. And when Pyrrha leaned down as the clock struck twelve and kissed Ruby on the lips, a warm sense of contentment lodged in her heart that would only strengthen and solidify when, years later, she got down on a knee before the redhead with a box in hand. 

* * *

**Pyrrha isn't likely to get a happy ending in many of my stories. Turns out being a character based on Achilles does little good for your life expectancy, especially since her death plays such a huge part of Volume 3's climax; to save her takes away much of the emotional impact of the finale, and solidifies that nothing is the same anymore.**

**But fuck that, I can give her one happy ending. Maybe not with who she intended it to be with, but love works in mysterious ways, right? Rather obviously, while both of the previous snippets could at least pretend to be canon, this is flagrantly AU. And that's fine.**

**June 4th covers team SSSN. Can I give you a hint? Well, let's just say I've recently gotten back into Achievement Hunter...**

 


	4. Chapter 4: Team SSSN Member (Scarlet)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Scarlet solves issues at gunpoint, Sage laments his existence and Sun and Neptune bond over a shared love of physical assault.

Scarlet didn't quote know what to make of his team mates. Sun talked enough to cover for himself and Sage, Neptune thought he was God's gift to women when the sap was too afraid of water to walk though a puddle, and Sage was... really there. Scarlet was pretty sure Sage was judging all of them for being idiots, and wondering who he'd pissed off to get this team. Scarlet himself couldn't complain, given how often his game of "Figure out what the switches do," ended with people in the shower rooms screeching in agony from the sharp shifts in temperature. 

And yet, one thing did unite them, aside from the frequent walks to the guidance counselor to file another sexual harassment lawsuit against the female population of Haven Academy. They could all find the time to hate Scarlet with passion normally reserved for the Grimm. 

Which is why, Scarlet mused, he wasn't surprised when he walked in from training one day on game night to see Sun and Neptune holding each other at gunpoint. Or to see Sage half-conscious while nursing a bottle of whiskey, with several more scattered around him.

Sun saw him first. "Scarlet! Tell this blue-haired little SOB that he's wrong!"

"No Scarlet, take my side! Sun is obviously wrong, now and forever!"

Scarlet tried his adamant best to ignore his teammates, shrugging his jacket off and hanging it on the coat rack. He stopped by the fridge, grabbing a soda can, before leaning against the fridge and frowning at Sun and Neptune. "What got you started now?" 

"So we're getting ready for games night, and I'm setting out Depths and Delvers, when _Sun Wukong_ puts on his game, and lo and behold, it is his latest attempt to drive me insane!"

Scarlet looked over at Sun, who shrugged. "I put on a water level in Tank Bros, Neptune flipped out... one thing led to another."

Scarlet turned his head to Sage. "Sage, why do they have their guns out? Well, more than usual for Sun, at least."

A low groan sounded from Sage's direction. "Dude, I came in to them like this, they've been at it for two hours. I stopped caring one hour and fifty nine minutes ago."

So business as usual for Sage, then. Meaning it was up to Scarlet to save their dorm from mass destruction. 

They were so _fucked,_  and they didn't even know, the poor saps.

Scarlet opened his mouth, prepared to inspire his team to lay down arms, embrace one another and sing kumbaya.

"Guys, it's obvious that we need to work on our relationship problems! We need to expand our hearts until they're bigger than the sky! Which is bigger than the ground!"

After a long period of everyone just looking at Scarlet, eyes screaming _"what the shit are you on"_ at him, Sun looked at Neptune. "You wanna just kick his ass instead?"

Neptune shrugged. "Eh, I can live with that."

Scarlet gulped, before running for the door. 

* * *

 

"... And that's how I saved the dorm!" Scarlet grinned, holding his arms out wide. RWBY looked on in various shades of horror while the rest of SSSN facepalmed in the background.

"He left out the part where Sun and Neptune kicked his ass so hard they leveled the dorm," Sage growled. 

"How do you put up with him?" Blake asked Sun.

The monkey Faunus shrugged. "Well, he's our Weiss. We all hate his guts, but if anyone else hates his guts, we kick their ass then go right back to hating his guts." 

RWBY all nodded as one at this sage advice. Barring one.

"Hey!"

* * *

**SSSN are... really fucking hard to write as a team. That's all I really have to say, I was gone for much of the day so this was sorta rushed. Compared to the Pyrrha chapter, where I spent much of the day coming to the story and leaving it for a bit to let the brain recharge, I will readily admit... I wrote this on the seat of my pants. It doesn't help that SSSN are very much... there, IMO. Unlike Amber, where I actually like the character enough to want to make a backstory, SSSN are just some cool designs and little else. Hence why this is likely gonna be the shortest prompt of the month and the one I don't like the most, purely because the team itself doesn't give me a lot to do, unless you do something everyone's done like 'why does Scarlet hate sand?' or 'why is Neptune afraid of the water?'**

**So anyway, this snip was originally gonna be Scarlet solving everyone's problems through game night, but I then decided to make my description of Scarlet, "Gavin Free with a cutlass and shittier haircut." So I then decided that it would be funnier to have the punchline be 'everyone in SSSN hates Scarlet."**

**On the bright side, I'm continuing the proud tradition of Gavin getting his ass kicked by Michael.**

**Anyway, June 5th is a CFVY chapter. Hopefully they give me less trouble than these K-Pop shits did.**

 


	5. Chapter 5: CFVY (Coco)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Coco puts her foot in her mouth and takes a few harsh lessons in humility.

**Chapter 5: Team CFVY (Coco)**

* * *

 

Coco had always had one life lesson drilled into her for as long as she could remember, from her parents who otherwise loved and supported her whenever they could.

"If you want something, earn it yourself because you can't expect to live on hand-me-downs."

She wanted to become a model and fashionista? That was fine; her parents would make the time to attend all of her events and would gladly celebrate with her. But she earned her way onto those runways, and complained little about it on the way to the top; she put in the time, effort and dedication needed and refused any easy tickets along the way.

When she expressed interest in becoming a Huntress? She got her Aura unlocked, found her Semblance, and got to work. She made some friends like Fox, gained some enemies like the female population of school since they all thought she and Fox were dating, and fractured a lot of bones along the way, but she came out of the other side. Learned how to fight, made her weapon, studied her ass off to get into Beacon... and got paired with a poor soul afraid of her own shadow. 

She didn't think much of Velvet Scarlatina when she came across the rabbit Faunus in the forest that day, and did try to weasel out of it at first, but as she later learned from Miss Goodwitch "I was wearing sunglasses and never actually made eye contact," was not a valid excuse to avoid taking someone on as a partner. At least she still had Fox in her team, who seemed to be the only person that  _got_ Coco at the time.

"You don't like your partner," he said bluntly once as they got changed for combat class, "and that's fine. But don't take it out on her." 

"I don't dislike her," Coco stressed. "But when she stops jumping at her reflection and stops hiding behind that damn camera, I'll give her the time of day. Until then? I'm gonna be here, wondering how she got in." She grabbed Fox by the arm, a critical gaze running over his vest. "This is wearing thin," she muttered. "Remind me to tune that up when we get back tonight."

"I'll be fine without it," Fox started to say before she put a hand over his mouth.

"I've seen you fight. You need all the protection you can get, mister "Aura is for losers." Besides, I'm leader. If I can help my team at no real cost to myself, I'll do it, just like I'll get Velvet out of her shell. So don't let me worry." She moved behind Fox, slapping his ass as she threw on her shades. "Now, let's go knock some skulls."

* * *

At the end of the first semester, Velvet won a random raffle draw to a firework's display being held to honor Beacon's representatives in the Vytal festival. The tickets were for two, so she decided to invite Fox; Yatsuhashi would attract a lot of attention her way and Coco was... Coco. 

Velvet, in her enthusiasm to get out of Beacon for a spell (And not have to worry about Oobleck's essay that was due... tomorrow... oh boy), forgot one important factor about Fox.

He was blind.

But Velvet, one must note, was in her own eyes an idiot. And thus, she remained blissfully unaware of this factoid until Fox dropped his scroll on the ground, the crowd large, but not too big that they were being crushed. 

"Damnit," he muttered. "Velvet, can you..." 

"Sure!" Bending over quickly to pick it up, she held it out for him, before the penny dropped. "Oh Fox, I'm so sorry." 

"What, is it broken? Can we get the ID chip out so I don't have to put all the numbers in again?" 

"No, it's fine. I mean, I forgot you were..." she gestured helplessly. Fox finally got the hint and chuckled. 

"It's fine. I may not be able to see conventionally, but my Semblance is letting my enjoy the show. In fact, I love fireworks."

That made her feel a little better, at least- but then again, Velvet attributed a lot of her positive traits as raw accident. Taking out her camera, she snapped a few pictures absentmindedly before turning back to Fox. "Wait, your Semblance? Seriously?" 

The blind man nodded. "The way that sound is generated from a firework is one of the only times I can actually see the sky in any real way. I know you didn't intend this, but I am thankful Velvet." Fox put his arm over Velvet's shoulder; she blushed and ducked her head. 

"Well," she mumbled, "you're one of my better friends Fox. Yatsu would have drawn a lot of attention and Coco's..."

"Coco?" Fox replied with mirth. 

She wilted. "Yeah. You've known her for a while, right?" 

"We grew up down the street from each other. She's one of the only people I've ever known to not care for my disability." He chuckled. "Man, I've seen some shit as her friend."

"Oh," Velvet chuckled politely in respond before, empowered by the atmosphere, she decided to be blunt. "Does she not like me?" 

Fox paused, arm falling off Velvet's shoulder. "I don't think she dislikes you. Coco is just a very driven woman who earned her way in life and didn't take the easy path whenever she could. She's never really developed patience as a result, and solves most of her problems head on." He turned to look at her, half his face lighting up as a firework exploded in the sky, the other framed in shadow. "She applies that to respect as well."

The other penny dropped for Velvet. "And I don't use my weapon a lot because of how... flashy it is. Truth told, I was considering asking for reassignment, because I was sure the problem was with me."

Fox shook his head. "You not liking confrontation doesn't help in her eyes. But Velvet, look. It's only the first semester. I'll talk to her over the break, get her to give you a chance. You'll be fine, I promise."

Velvet smiled. "Thanks Fox." A gust of wind ran through the crowd and Velvet shivered, pulling her coat close together. "It's getting cold out," she said conversationally, before noticing that Fox had, again, refused to wear sleeves. 

"Yeah, and the show's wrapping up. Wanna head back?"

"Sure." 

* * *

 

Coco's first thought upon meeting Yatsuhashi in the Emerald Forest beside Fox had been _'I pity this guy's mother.'_  She steadily grew to like the gentle giant who had been made Fox's partner, especially after he whipped out his mother's low-fat ice cream recipe. He was everything Coco looked for in a man- quiet, sweet with kids, ready to kill someone with their big-ass sword at a moment's notice. So basically, Fox but not gay. Unfortunately, he also had Fox's bad habit of calling her on Important Leader Bullshit.

Velvet and Fox were out for the night, leaving the two powerhouses of CFVY to break out the booze and get to shit-talking their partners as the first semester drew to a close.

"I feel like Fox is more aware of his surroundings then he lets on." Yatsu mused as they lounged on deckchairs under the moonlight. 

"Yeah?" 

"I noticed it after those thugs tried picking on Velvet last week. He walked right through them and managed to punch each of them in the kidneys or dig an elbow in on the way past under the pretense of being blind." 

Coco remembered that, namely the glower she had shot at Velvet's back as she refused to offer any real resistance to the lowlifes as they made obscene comments about fuck bunnies. "He hasn't told you his Semblance?" She chuckled. Oh, it had been years since she'd seen Fox get to play this trick on someone.

"No, he simply said it wasn't much use in combat. Why?" 

"His Semblance is sonar vision- he can see soundwaves and how they bounce off things."

Yatsu was silent for a few minutes, and Coco looked over, worried that he was a lightweight and had fallen asleep. 

Finally, he said something. "That son of a _bitch_ ," he whispered. 

The fact that Yatsu- the gentle giant of the team who often complained when they swore, even in private- had just cursed was hilarious to Coco's tipsy mind, and the next thing she knew, Yatsu was leaning over her, concern etched on his face.

"You fell over and hit your head off the deckchair," he rumbled. "Let me get an ice-pack." 

After he returned and the two settled back down, Coco trying in vain to wear the ice-pack under her beret, Yatsu spoke up.

"You up for a round of drunken honesty?"

She shrugged, downing a glass. "Hit me."  

"Why do you wear sunglasses all the time?"

"I have sensitive eyes, I'm nearly blind in bright light without them." She replied flatly. "Why do you only wear the one pauldron?"

"They came as a set, I lost the first when my brother chucked it into the ocean. What's your Semblance?"

"I can imbue clothes with Aura, make them tougher and less likely to tear. Lasts about five to six months before I need to renew it." 

"Huh. Could you...?" 

"Sure, I'll do it tomorrow after I get past this hangover. What's _your_ Semblance?" 

He sighed. "Just super-strength. I know, it's real boring compared to magic clothes, weapon copying and sonar vision." 

"Boring," Coco conceded, "but really practical. I've seen you wipe out entire Beowulf packs in one swing."

"And in the time it takes me to do that, you can do the same with... what do you call your weapon again?"

"Fashion Statement," she smirked, "because no one messes with it." 

That got a booming laugh out of Yatsu. "Fair enough," he choked out while he got his breath back. "One last question." 

"Go ahead."

"Why do you hate Velvet?" 

Coco paused, sobriety coming to her in a cold wave like water from a bucket. "Where did I give that impression?"

"Because you're a pleasant person most of the time, but I can never recall you complimenting her. She's lucky to get curt nods from you when she does something right." 

Coco swallowed down the line she wanted to shout out, that 'I don't hate her, I want to ask her out,' but this wasn't the place for that. "Yatsu, when was the last time she _did_ something right? I've seen her use her weapon maybe twice since initiation. She lets everyone walk over her and never defends herself against people. I'd compliment her for getting a fucking _spine_  in place, but we have a better chance of winning the Vytal Festival than her talking back to me!"

A door slammed loudly, and the sound of someone running away echoed through the hall outside. Coco shut her eyes, groaning softly.

"They got back early, didn't they?" 

"Yes."

"You knew that because you were getting the ice and tricked me into saying that shit so I'd finally talk to her about my problems with her, didn't you?"

"Yes." 

"You're the real son of a bitch in this team, you know that, right?"

"Yes." 

Coco groaned more loudly as she fixed her beret and glasses on, before leaving the balcony. Fox met her at the the door, arms crossed and shoulders set. 

"Are you gonna punch me?" She asked warily, reflexively activating her Aura.

"I'm considering my options," he responded flatly. 

"I'm going right now to fix this, I know I fucked up."

"You wanna know something Coco? Velvet was considering going to Ozpin to ask for a reassignment tomorrow, but I convinced her to stick it out. That I knew Coco Adel for years, and she was a fundamentally good person who, barring the occasional lapse in judgement, was a good person." 

He stepped aside, fixing her with a glare. "I really hope that after tonight, I don't have to lie when I say that." 

Coco sighed, pulling off her beret and running her hand through her hair. "I fucked up _real_ bad, didn't I?"

"Not irreversibly. You can fix it. But you'll have to work on it. So politely, get off your misery train, stop acting like a tsundere and either ask her out or fix your damn problems."

Coco blinked. "I am _not_ acting like a tsundere."  

Fox looked un-amused. "Right."

"I'm going now, but we're talking about this!"

"No we're not." 

"Bastard," she muttered as she left.

* * *

 

She found Velvet at the statue near the front of the school, watching the sky like she had with Yatsu not so long ago. Velvet wasn't looking at her, but her rabbit ears perked up when Coco stepped out. She didn't flinch as Coco sat down beside her, shivering slightly in the cold. Coco tried not to cringe when she saw the red circles around her eyes.

"I..." Coco sighed. "I owe you an apology."

"Why?" Velvet asked flatly. "You were just speaking honestly." 

"And honesty can suck me off, it's a shitty thing."

"Didn't stop you in the first place."

Coco sighed. "No, no it did not. I never learned how to hold my liqueur."

"I don't blame you," Velvet mumbled. "Fox told me a bit about you. I'm everything you grew up despising, and now you're stuck with me as a partner-"

"No." She grabbed Velvet's face, turning her head to face her. "I'm not _stuck_ with you, Velvet. You're my partner, and I'm yours."

"Then why don't you ever act like it?! I'm lucky to get a compliment from you!" Velvet snapped. 

"Because I'm a huge fucking imbecile!" Coco barked, pulling off her glasses. Velvet slid back, a hint of fear in her eyes. "Because I was busy thinking about me and never considered what was going through your head or how dangerous your weapon can be if you lose control, or complaining about how the hand life dealt me like the biggest fucking hypocrite to walk these halls, and because I was too much of a fucking coward to just say I liked you and wanted to take you out for dinner, so instead... holy shit, I really was a Tsundere! Fox, you  _bastard_!"

"W-wait," Velvet stammered as Coco caught her breath after shouting in the loose direction of her dorm, "what was that last part?" 

"Fox being a bastard?"

"Back-track a little."

"I... oh. Dinner." 

"Little more." Velvet urged.

"... I like you?" Coco buried her face in her hands, groaning softly. Velvet awkwardly laid a hand on her back. 

"Not exactly how I thought I'd say it," Coc mumbled. 

"I thought you and Fox were... with the butt-smacking..."

"Nah, we're just friends. Friends who are both repulsed at the thought of sex with the other. That's just my way of hugging someone."

"I hope you never feel the need to hug Goodwitch, then. I don't think you'd live to regret it long, at least." 

Coco chuckled drily at that, looking up at Velvet. "I am sorry, seriously. I should've just been honest with you from the beginning." 

"It's fine, I doubt we're the first team with inter-personal problems. You're probably not the first person to confess to having feelings on this bench." 

"I strongly doubt that. That'd be some real sappy bullshit."

* * *

**Twenty-something years ago, on that bench, in that garden, at that school:**

"Qrow..." Summer looked away, guilt clear in her eyes. 

"Summer..." Qrow husked, leaning forward.

"I think... I'm in love with someone."

"Who?"  _Don't be Raven don't be Raven don't be Raven_

"It's... oh God, I can't believe I'm saying this."  _Be still, my beating heart_ ,  _she's about to confess to you!_

"I think I'm in love with Taiyang!"

Qrow felt a strong desire to drink course through his system as he stared, stony-faced, at Summer. 

_Congrat-u-fucking-lations, Taiyang. I'm gonna teach your kids to only ever love their weapons unconditionally, and that blond people are evil. Take my sister and my lover, what the fuck is wrong with you you greedy shit. Entire fucking team, who does that?_

"That's..." Qrow trailed off. "That's great, Summer. I'm so happy for you. Can you excuse me?"

Qrow ran off for the bar. 

* * *

 

"Anyway," Coco said, putting her glasses back on and folding her arms, "this cold'll be the death of me, so do you wanna go back inside?" 

Velvet sighed, still shivering in the cold. "I'd love to." The two got up, retreating back for the dorms.

"Coco?" Velvet said as the elevator went up.

"Yeah?" 

"I'm free on Thursday night if you were serious about that dinner proposal."

The door chimed open and Velvet left, winking at Coco as she walked down the hallway. Coco blinked, her brain currently trying to restart itself.

"I'm either the luckiest person alive," she muttered, "or I am being set up for one hell of a prank." 

Still, if she was going to do dinner, then she'd make the damn thing perfect. Leaving the elevator, Coco was already deciding on something elegant, but stylistic and humble to take Velvet out in. She wasn't completely forgiven for her outburst- but she'd earn Velvet's trust, just like how she earned her stripes as a model and her position in Beacon.

Although Fox would later note, "Given how you _married_ her, I'm willing to bet on luck." 

* * *

**I love CFVY. I think they're an awesome team with great designs and a kickass theme (Even if I actually think introducing CFVY in the Volume 2 finale was a bad idea because it basically killed the tension of the Breach, but that's neither here nor there), and I want to see more of them whenever possible (Velvet appearing in Chibi season 2 was a pleasant delight). Even for Fox, the member with the least amount of screen-time, you have his nonchalance to Coco slapping his ass and his possible blindness to work with.**

**And CFVY are foul-mouthed to all hell. Hey, Tyrian swore in volume 4, all bets are off now for swearing.**

**So this went a lot of different places- it was always meant to be a Coco focused story, but at first it was Coco inspiring the whole team to be better, but then the Yatsu conversation went places I didn't expect, then I added the Velvet and Fox scene and then... well, yeah. Crosshares was intended from the start, at least, but this was a lot longer than I intended it to be. I feel like the end is a bit rushed, but I thought the same about the Weiss chapter and people liked that, so I guess I'm like Coco and am a huge imbecile who should keep his thoughts to himself.**

**June 6th is a character introduced in season 4. Now, I think I and a lot of other people are going to pick one person in particular- you might I've been _pining_ to get a chance to write him for a while. **

**... Yeah, I'll see myself out.**


	6. Chapter 6: Character introduced in Volume 4 (Oscar)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Oscar wishes he could go back to being king of the compost heap.
> 
> Oz's dialogue is the straight italics.

Oscar had seen pictures of Mistral before in books, and whenever he and his aunt watched the Vytal Festival, but actually seeing it in person, from his train, that he had (technically) legally acquired a ticket for? That was new. 

_I have missed Mistral. It's been a while since I've been to see it._

... Shame about that backseat driver in his head that was inspiring Oscar to seek a lobotomy. 

_You aren't crazy, and that would harm you more than me._

"Not. Helping. Your. Case. Ozpin." Oscar growled.

_Very well. I only ask one thing of you when you get off the train, and otherwise I shall not bother you unless it is to prevent your untimely death._

"I'll consider it."

An image came unbidden to his head; an old tavern-looking place, lanterns on the table, several rows of multicolored bottles. A second image followed; an old-ish man (Oscar wasn't even twenty, he was allowed to call anyone over thirty old without sounding like a jerk), white shirt, red eyes and cross pendant tied around his neck. Mid swig of something that, even without a sense of smell, was able to make Oscar's stomach turn.

 _You'll find that man at this tavern. Go there and he can validate my story._  

Oscar sighed. "Is it close?"

_I'll guide you there. Just make sure to say to him, "I'd like my cane back."_

"Hopefully along the way I don't meet more psychos who punch ticket machines," he muttered as he grabbed his bag and made for the exit. 

* * *

 

Ozpin's directions, at least, had grains of truth to them. Oscar was worried for a little bit that Ozpin would take him on some winding route to show off the city, but he kept it mercifully brief; barring a bridge that he had to cross (Where he did admit that yeah, that view was something else), he was guided on what felt like the most straightforward path to a tavern called... 

"The Futuristic Bees?" He said allowed, taking in the flashy neon sign of... "Is that a bumblebee dressed in leather riding a motorcycle." He said flatly.

_... Evidently there has been a change in management since I was last here. But our man should still be in there._

"He'd better be. If I'm walking into a strip club..."

_I know. Lobotomies for everyone._

"No. I'll just watch a lot of television. Lots. And Lots. Of television. Rot my brain from the inside out."

 _Now Oscar, let's not be hasty._ Oscar detected what felt like an undercurrent of fear running through his system.

"I would," he pressed on, smirking. "and I'd follow it up with a cocktail mix every night."

_I truly hope are you are joking. This will not be fun if you are self-destructive._

Oscar decided to let the little jackass fester for a bit-

_You know I can read your thoughts._

... Oscar decided to let the uber-masculine, handsome, omnipresent, definitely not annoying-

_Stop patronizing me. Just remember, get the cane back._

He went inside. The tavern was much like Ozpin's memory of it suggested it would be, mercifully including the lack of neon bumblebees. Same rows of bottles on the wall, same lanterns on the tables... and there was the man with a hint of grey to his hair, a glass in hand, alongside a red cape and a sword on his back. The name came unbidden to him- Qrow Branwen. He looked a little pale, and... was that a hospital ID tag strapped to his arm?

"Excuse me." Oscar called out, his boots echoing across the otherwise empty space. The man turned to him- red eyes, stubble, cross pendant.

"Ya know, I don't think they allow kids in here, pipsqueak." His voice was dry, deep and very drunk, but his eyes were focused intently on Oscar. 

_Oscar, the cane. Please._

"Shut up, I'm getting there." Oscar mumbled, turning his head. Qrow seemed to blink, regaining his sobriety as he kept looking at Oscar. Not saying anything, just watching and maybe reacting in... disbelief? 

_Cane. Ask. For. Receive._

"Um..." he trailed off. "I'm supposed to tell you... 'I'd like my cane back?'"

Qrow blinked. Eyes widened, he reflexively looked down at a small cylindrical device hanging off his belt. Finally, he nodded in a mix of realization and acceptance, getting out of his seat and facing Oscar fully. 

"Hm." He held it out, looking at it and Oscar with a wry smile. "It's good to see ya again Oz." 

He tossed it, Oscar snatching it out of the air reflexively. When he touched it, it expanded into... well, a cane. Ah. That explained a lot. 

"You happy now?" He muttered.

_Very._

Qrow snapped his fingers, bringing Oscar's focus back to him. "I'm guessing Oz didn't tell you everything beyond the bare basics?"

"Pretty much." Oscar shrugged. 

Sighing, Qrow reached behind the bar, filling a glass with water. Setting it on the counter, he tapped the chair beside him as he sat down. "You might wanna sit down then, this is gonna take a while." He huffed. "More things change, more they stay the same. Still got " 

Oscar sat down, clutching at the water.

"Alright kid," Qrow started, taking a swig, "What's your favorite fairytale?"

* * *

 

"... And that's the whole story. Maidens, Salem, bitches in red dresses, silver eyes... Oz knows most of this, so you should be able to poke in his noggin' if you need more intel. But that should get you started."

"Wow," Oscar mumbled. "It sounds so... fantastical." He contemplated the cane lying across his lap, running a hand along its length. "So... this was my- I mean, Ozpin's cane?"

"Yep. He had it as long as I knew him. Can't really remember ever seeing him without it, truth told. He must've valued it."

"Right." He kept looking at it. Was there a _gun_ , or something, in it? "How does it work?" 

Qrow tipped his glass in Oscar's direction. "Now that is a very good question. I only ever saw him fight with it like that. I'd hope it does somethin' special."

"Huh. So then, how would he have used it..."

The door slammed open. "Uncle Qrow!" A streak of rose petals came soaring it, slamming into Qrow's chest before materializing into... a girl. A very _beautiful_ girl with dark hair and red tips.

 _Oh. Oh dear lord, no._  

"Ow," he groaned. "Ruby, I was just poisoned-"

"And here you are in a bar? You're supposed to be recovering! Not..." The girl sniffed. "Have you been  _drinking?_ "

"Well, I kinda figured that the best way to flush the poison outta my system would be... use poison I've developed an immunity to." 

"I-" Ruby caught herself, turning to Oscar. "Hi, I'm Ruby Rose. Qrow's niece."  She extended a hand, and Oscar took it. As he shook her hand, another group of teenagers came in after her; an energetic orange-haired girl and a tall, lanky ninja-like guy. Oscar failed to notice this at first, still caught by the beauty in front of him.

_Oscar please, don't think about her like that. I taught her!_

Oscar, meanwhile, sat in a daze as he took in the girl who could only have been a year or two younger than him. "You have silver eyes." He mumbled. 

_Please remember that I am in your head and very strongly object to all of this._

Qrow caught Oscar's gaze, tracking it to Ruby. His entire body language shifted from gentle embarrassment to 'I have hidden bodies before and have no objection to hiding yours.' "Oz," he growled, "hands off my niece." 

Ruby's brow furrowed. "Oz?" She turned back to Qrow. "Why did you call him that?" 

 _Seriously, Oscar, I taught her parents. I taught_ her. _Words cannot describe how wrong I think this is. For the love of everything, she's a child!_

"Yeah, so am I!"

The orange-haired girl tapped the ninja's shoulder. "Ren? Why did he just talk to himself?" 

_I am sharing your dreams and every waking moment in your mind. Please consider how weird this will be for the both of us._

Qrow sighed. "Because Ozpin's in his head right now." 

"Really?" Nora asked.

"Yeah. Why is why-" Qrow glowered at Oscar again, "I think we can all agree that the person Ozpin, who is old enough to have taught me and Ruby's parents, let me remind you, is inhabiting should be  _backing away from my niece._ "

_If you die Oscar, I might die with you. Please do not doom all of Remnant because you had to play with fire. Just, please, ask Qrow for help in training you, and we can all pretend this never happened._

Oscar opened his mouth. He sighed. "Alright, fine." He turned back to Qrow, who was eyeing the bottles on the other side of the bar. "Ozpin says you can help train me?"

Qrow looked at him red eyes glinting as he slowly started to smile manically. He stood up, eyeing the farm boy. "Yeah, I can train you all right." He started to chuckle and everyone slowly backed up. "I'll train the crap out of you. Let's start with some endurance training. Nora?"

The orange-haired girl perked up. "Yeah?" 

"Give the kid a three minute head start. Bring him back here within an hour, and I'll buy you a seven course meal at a pancake restaurant tomorrow. Starting now." 

Oscar gulped.

_Remember how I said I wouldn't bother you except to save your life? This is one of those times! Run you fool!_

"But-"

_JUST RUN!_

Oscar took the advice to heart, bolting out of the tavern. Behind him he heard the manic laughter of Nora as she screamed after him "You can run but you can't hide!"

A quiet sigh. "Please don't burn the city down, Nora."

"No promises Renny!"

* * *

**So Oscar. _Shrugs_. Suppose I don't hate him at least, and his existence has been justified since I got to hear Vic Mignogna call Arron Dismuke a pipsqueak. While I like Volume 4, and make no mistake, I like it a lot, it's basically a retread of Volume 1's main issue (Well, main issue aside from being terrible)- a season that spends more time setting up things than actually _doing_ things. **

**And Oscar is a sort of embodiment of that. His arc was basically just Ozpin telling him, "Hey Oscar, go to Mistral and find some dude I gave a tea-set. Also, be afraid of people who punch ticket machines." He's gonna be important down the line, no doubt. I just wish we got some proof of that this season. So as it stands, I'm left with the idea of making Ozpin a backseat driver.**

**In hindsight, had it not been for that I teased doing Oscar during the CFVY chapter, I likely would have done one of the villains since... I forgot that Tyrian, Watts and Hazel were introduced now and not the Volume 3 finale. But I like how this went. Rose Garden is a ship I'm fine towards, and I do get a lot of fun out Qrow and Oz both being strongly against it.**

**Anyway, June 7th is a parent. Not quite sure yet who I'll cover, but I feel like it's gonna at least try to be a sad story.**

 


	7. Chapter 7: Parents (Summer Rose)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thus, kindly, I scatter, Thy leaves o'er the bed, Where thy mates of the garden Lie scentless and dead... In which Summer Rose goes on a mission.

**Patch:**

Summer toppled backwards, hitting the tree behind her and sliding down until she was sitting at it. Streaks of red marked her passage down, alongside the rapidly growing circle of red around her. Her breath was ragged; each inhale slow and painful, each exhale a rattle. 

She felt at her pockets, hands rapidly losing feeling as she took out her scroll and swiped open the video folder, a streak of red now adorning the screen. She cleaned it off with her sleeve, eyes growing heavy with fatigue as she found the film she was looking for. She turned it on.

The screen showed a young girl with blonde hair, about four or so, with a younger child that had darker hair. Each was adorned with a plastic toy weapon, and the blonde was running around in what looked like a living room. The camera shook, Summer just managing to suppress her laughter as she watched her kids play without alarming them.

 _"Look out world!"_ The blonde cried, picking up the younger girl and setting her on her shoulders.  _"Here comes Ruby Rose, the legendary Huntress, slayer of Grimm and maker of cookies!"_ Yang caught Summer recording, not even trying to hide her laughter at this point, and charged forward.  _"Come on sis! I see a mighty Grimm ahead of us! ATTACK!"_

 _"Oh no!"_ Summer yelled jubilantly as the camera shook.  _"Taiyang, come quick! Legendary huntresses are after me!"_

The camera bobbed as Summer pantomimed running from her kids. Summer smiled at the footage, her heavy breathing calming down as she watched the footage.

The scroll slipped out of her numb fingers.

* * *

**Ten hours ago:**

"Taiyang, come quick!" Summer laughed. "Legendary huntresses are after me!"

Yang and Ruby chased her to the front door, where Summer threw up her hands. "Please accept my surrender, honorable Huntresses! I only have my life to offer!"

Yang pondered this, hand on her chin. "We will accept your terms.. if you offer us a plate of cookies!"

Summer sighed. "Very well, if it shall win you over, but I offer as well a _thousand hugs and kisses!"_

Yang squealed, just barely getting Ruby off her back before Summer launched, pulling the two siblings into her arms and peppering them with hugs and kisses. Not quite a thousand, but close enough for the two girls.

"Please don't kill your mother," Tai deadpanned from the kitchen. 

"Wouldn't dream of it dad!" Yang shot back immediately. 

"Good, because it's bedtime for you two! Clean up and we'll tuck you in soon." 

Yang and Ruby groaned, but they ultimately complied, cleaning up their toys and getting their teeth done. Tai made for the bedrooms, but Summer put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Let me. I'm the one leaving soon. You can do it tomorrow." 

Tai smirked, but complied, moving to the living room. Summer went to Yang's room first, finding the blond just getting into bed. "Ruby's in bed." she whispered. 

Summer smiled, ruffling Yang's hair and ignoring the indignant squawk that resulted. She was looking more and more like Raven every day, she noticed in the back of her head. When would they tell her? When would she show her little dragon the harsh reality that her mother... wasn't her?

Not tonight, at least. 

"Now little dragon, I'm going to be gone for a little while, but when I get back, that plate of cookies will be so high even you'll take pause."

Yang smirked, that same cocky smirk that she saw on a pair of twins that always sent a lance through Summer's heart. "I'll hold you to it mommy." 

"Now sleep tight, and I'll see you when I get back." 

She kissed Yang gently on the forehead, stroking her face as those lilac eyes grew heavy and, eventually, shut. Slipping out quietly and closing the door as she did so, she made her way across the hall to Ruby's new room. She was, as Yang said, tucked in, but stirred as Summer came in. 

"Mamma?" Came the soft whisper. 

"I'm here sweety. Ready to sleep?"

"Don't go. Please?" Her heart broke all over again, but she kept the tears down for now as she gently hugged her little rose. 

"I'm sorry honey. I won't be gone for long. I'll be back before you know it." 

"Sing?" 

"Sure honey. I'll sing for you." She tucked Ruby back in as she sang, careful not to make any sudden movements. 

_"Don't you worry about the dark, I will light up the night with the love in my heart, I will burn like the sun, I will keep you safe and warm. Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day, I will be here to take all your fears away, with a touch of my hand, I will turn your life to gold."_

* * *

 

Tai was waiting by the door when Summer finally came down after wiping her face of tears in the bathroom. The small satchel they shared was at his feet.

"Do you really need to go now?" He asked as she dismantled her weapons on the living room table before reassembling them and putting them in their holsters.

"Faster I get it done, the faster I'm back home." She replied smoothly. 

"I guess," he conceded. "but I still think you should wait until Qrow gets back. Then I could go, or he could-"

She raised a hand to cut him off. "It's only some Beowolves, Tai. I'll be able to handle them, and I'll be back before the end of the week." She laid a hand on his shoulder, smiling fondly at her close friend. "Try not to burn the house down?"

He cringed. "That was seven years ago!"

"I forgive, Tai. I'm very good at it. But I will never forget." Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she slipped out the door, winking at him as she left.

* * *

Summer made good time over the first four hours. She knew Patch like the back of her hand, and was bolstered with energy, drive, and a heck of a lot of cockiness. After all, it was Beowulves and maybe a few Boarbatusks according to the bounty. Child's play. 

She nearly didn't hear her scroll going off as she flew between the trees, but as she stopped to catch her breath before entering a clearing, the vibrating finally attracted her notice. She checked the caller ID and frowned, before answering.

"Qrow? What's going on-"

 _"Summer!_ _"_ His voice was frantic, and she could hear boots on pavement. Was he running?  _"Hazel never took the bait! They're not in Vacuo!"_

Oh.  _Shit._ "Wait, then-"

_"Grab Tai and the kids, and get the hell out of there! I'm on the way- yes, I need a ship to Patch, right now! Summer, don't let them get you! Just RUN!"_

He hung up abruptly. Summer cursed quietly, pocketing the scroll and turning back.

Oz had given them the warning that someone matching Hazel Reinart's description had been wandering around some of STRQ's old stomping grounds, looking for 'a silver-eye and a dusty old crow.' Qrow had thought that by being seen in Vacuo, that Hazel would take the bait and get lured on a wild goose chase.

Unfortunately, it seemed Hazel was smarter than that. 

And quieter than she assumed, judging by how he was leaning against a tree as she ran back. 

"Thank you for coming out here," he rumbled as he got off the tree, "I thought that bounty would lure you out, or someone I could use." 

The flickering of movement to both sides; two more assassins. She couldn't go for her scroll, they'd shoot it out of her hand and then she'd be in the middle of nowhere as the snow was starting to fall. Aura could solve many problems, but even the manifestation of the soul was useless against frostbite.

But she could still keep them talking as she backed up towards the clearing. Hazel strolled forward at an equal pace, seemingly nonchalant. 

"What, had to bring cronies just to fight one small woman?" 

"Against a Silver Eyes?" He quirked an eyebrow. "I'd argue that I'm under-prepared. But Watts insisted on following Branwen's trail in Vacuo, so I was understaffed."

Summer kept backing up, now in the clearing. On her left, a tall, lanky man came out- Scorpion Faunus, grinning like a lunatic, with a dark overcoat and bladed gauntlets. A woman stepped out on the right, cropped blonde hair and a lever-action rifle in hand.

Hazel pulled off his coat, leaving it hanging off a branch. "I'd like to thank you." 

Summer quirked an eyebrow. "For?" 

"For leaving when you did. I don't like dragging family into these matters. I promise you, I have no quarrel with them. They'll never even know I was here."

"You imply," she snarled as she drew Summer's Knights, the bladed revolvers glinting in the moonlight as she extended the blades and thumbed back the hammers, "that you're going to live to see the sunrise. Because you mentioned my daughters, you son of a bitch, so I'm gonna kill you." 

Hazel finally dropped the stoic expression, smiling as he cracked his knuckles. 

"At least you won't go into the void accepting death. You'll die a warrior's death. There's nothing more honorable than that."

No more words were spoken with tongue. Instead, Hazel charged, and Summer met him in return, a battle cry on her lips as she fired.

* * *

 

Summer Rose was one of the best students Ozpin had ever seen in Beacon. She was one of the best Huntresses of her generation, and had her career lasted longer, she could have been spoken of in the same breath as the King of Vale himself. Even when faced with a three on one fight, she did not falter, did not beg. She charged her foe, and gave as good as she got.

If this was to be her last dance, then let the music play. She first kept her distance, a running firefight where her shots hit their Auras. Never hitting for a severe amount, but slowly chipping away. When she slipped away and hid, she closed in, flitting between the trio and leaving little more than afterimages and streaks of silver as she struck. Hazel was almost entirely a close-quarters fighter, so she prioritized the sniper with constant debilitating strikes.

But then that damnable scorpion Faunus had to start keeping up with her, pinning her down with machine-gun fire long enough for Hazel to keep up and for the sniper to get some distance. If Qrow had been here, he'd have taken Hazel, letting her go after that sniper. If Raven had been here, she'd have just shanked the bitch from behind with her portals. If Tai had been here, he'd have taken them all on with a wink and a grin.

But the rest of STRQ weren't here. And because of that, she was losing. Slowly, surely, and she was giving them plenty of scars, but her Aura was dropping. 

But she still drew first blood. The sniper had forgotten one of the first rules of sniping; change position so that the enemy can't get a good idea of your position. Her fondness for a particular spot- a tree crook- let Summer start dodging the shots more and more. And, eventually, redirect a strike or two there. When the scorpion Faunus fired at her, she twirled the blades, deflecting the shots at the tree crook. The sniper's Aura still held, but she had less cover.

And then Summer loaded a Fire Dust round into her revolver and shot the sniper in the head. Even with Aura stopping it from harming her beyond being a drain, the psychological effect still stuck. The sniper screamed, slipping out of the tree and beginning to pat it out. She still didn't move very far.

Summer charged, extending her blade to its fullest effect. Roaring, she plunged one of her Knights through the tree. A muted gasp came from the other side, followed by the gurgle of someone choking on their blood. She ripped her Knight out of the tree, offhandedly noting that the body slumped over. 

A few seconds faster, and she'd have deflected the stinger. 

Summer gasped in pain as the stinger ran across her stomach, cutting a thin line in her shirt, the droplets hissing in the snow. The Faunus was there, purple eyes glinting- wait, they were gold earlier.

Shit. Poison. 

Hazel was there in a heartbeat, kicking her back into the tree as he drew a dagger. She hit it, Summers Knights falling out of her grasp. The Faunus kicked them away, leering as he did so.

"Can we make it last, Hazel? We have a few hours before the poison-"

"No, Tyrian. We end it now."

And then Hazel stabbed Summer in the chest.

* * *

"Leave the body," she dimly heard, "we're several hours from the nearest doctor. As far as anyone cares, Summer Rose will have died fighting Grimm." 

"A bit... anti-climatic, is it not, Hazel? I had hoped she would put up more of a fight." 

"We can't afford to waste time. She's nearly dead, regardless; your poison, my dagger and the weather will finish the job. Branwen's damnable luck will probably have people just happening to be out at this time of night, so I'd like to be gone." 

Footsteps crunched in the snow, fading away. Summer clawed her way up the tree, clutching at her chest. She hissed in pain as she felt the stinger wound singe her fingers; definitely poison. She had to move, get her body temperature up before she froze to death... but then a raised heartbeat would accelerate the poison. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't. Either way, she wasn't looking at a lot of great options.

But she kept moving, regardless. She had a promise to fulfill, and she would see her daughters again, come hell or high water. 

She didn't know how long she spent staggering through the woods; the poison was taking effect, slowing her movement to a near crawl. Finally, it ate away enough at her gut that she had to lean against a tree, wherein she slid down until she was sitting under it.

With shaking, desperate hands, Summer reached for her scroll.

* * *

 

Summer could barely breath, she was so cold. Her breath, growing increasingly shallow, formed as mist that went up into the sky. She couldn't feel her hands, and she stared lifelessly ahead, the video on the scroll stuck on a loop.

Movement caught her gaze; a Boarbatusk, sniffing the air. It saw her, beginning to curl into a ball when a swift line of red cut through it. It curled over and died ignobly.

Summer supposed that she and it would have that in common, given a few more minutes.

Raven stood there, sans the mask, panting as if she had run a marathon. She took in Summer, muttered a curse, and began checking her wounds.

Summer flashed a wry smile at her old teammate. "So you don't show up for Yang's birthday, Rae, but-" Summer stopped to cough, blood trickling down her mouth as she finished. "you arrive in time for my death? I've got to say... your sense of timing is really morbid."

Raven shrugged, or at least tried to as she frantically checked Summer's wounds. "What can I say, I'm a horrible mother but a faithful partner?" 

"Tell that to Tai and Qrow." 

Raven froze. "Guess I had that one coming. Getting roasted by a dying woman, this how you intended to go? You're lucky Qrow called me in." 

"Gotta admit, was hoping I'd hit 80, die in my bed... you in my arms?"

Raven shook her head. "That happened one time, when we were drunk. You then decided that you preferred my brother." She was smiling at the memory, though. 

Summer knew what Raven was doing. She was keeping her talking, keeping her conscious so she wouldn't slip off into nothingness. But she had to know.

"I'm not gonna make it, am I?" She tried to keep her voice from wavering, but it set on her like a ton of bricks right after; she was going to die. Yang was going to lose a second mother, Ruby would never remember her, Tai and Qrow...

Raven grimly nodded. "We're at least an hour from the nearest doctor, Summer. You'd be lucky if you had twenty minutes."

"Your portals?"

"Are unstable enough when I'm bringing a healthy person through. You wouldn't make it."

Summer lapsed into silence then, eyes growing more heavy as she drifted back to the video on her scroll-

"Hey!" Fingers snapped in her face. "You're not dying on me Summer! You've gotten out of worse, we just need to think!"

"Rae..."

"Don't look at me like that! You're the strongest person I know, damnit, you  _can't_ die!"

"Rae, please."

Raven stopped. 

"Just... promise me you'll do three things." She was oh, so cold now. Maybe if she rested, she could get some warmth back in her bones-

A slap to the face, and Summer was conscious. "What do you need Summer?"

"First... be a mother for Yang." 

Even in the freezing cold, Raven stiffened. "Summer-"

"Raven, I'm dying, I can't give enough of a fuck to care about your tribe. You left that child, and I took her in because I was there. But I won't..." Summer stopped to cough. "I won't be there, and Ruby will need a mother. So you have to step in. You don't have to tell her the truth, not yet, but she needs a mother, and Taiyang needs someone to help him through this. So if you don't do it, I will haunt you, you hear?"

Raven gritted her teeth. "Damn you, Summer Rose. You are _impossible._ What's the second request?"

"Tell Qrow... this wasn't his fault." This was so  _exhausting._ But she needed to say it now, so she pressed on. "He'll blame himself, but it wasn't his fault. Tell him that, Raven.  _It wasn't his fault._ It wasn't yours, it wasn't Tai's, it was that bastard Hazel. You hear me?"

Was Raven crying? Summer's vision was getting blurry now herself, so she couldn't tell. "I'll tell him," she heard whispered on the wind. "What's the last thing?" 

She felt selfish for saying it. Hazel may not keep his word, he may be at Tai's house now... but her selfishness overrode her selflessness in that one moment. "Stay with me? I don't think... I can't do this alone."

Raven took her in her arms, running a shaking hand through her hair. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Rae?" 

"Yeah, Summer?" 

"... I'm scared."

"So am I, Summer," Raven sobbed. "So am I."

As everything went white, Summer thought of Ruby, of what few good memories she had with her child, and what could have been in a world without Salem. She clutched onto that thought, until even that was scattered away, like petals on the wind.

* * *

**... Well, this was fun to write. Did I say fun? I meant draining, in part because I started this on the same day as the Oscar snippet. Talk about whiplash.**

**Summer Rose, a character who has yet to even appear beyond the Red trailer and numerous mentions, and is probably dead. How do I like her so much?**

**Well, I direct you to Ellelehman's art over on Tumblr, because she's pretty much _the_ definitive artist for Summer Rose and has made Summer her own character with her comics and fanfiction. Honestly one of the best artists, and just general best people, I've gotten to meet on the hellsite that is Tumblr. So I guess, in a twisted way, this is dedicated to Elle. Sorry I just killed one of your favorite characters.  _Shrugs apologetically._**

**Worth noting that this is obviously different from canon, where Summer's body was never found. That's intentional, because I don't think Summer's dead in-canon. Remember, there's two chairs left unfilled in Salem's council room. One is likely for Lionheart, but the other? Could be anyone. But one of the classic rules of media is in place for a reason: If there ain't a body, they're not dead.**

**June 8th has the prompt of "antagonist." I will say that it won't be Tyrian or Hazel, since they got roles here, but I do have ideas in place.**


	8. Chapter 8: Antagonist (Cinder)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cinder tries to get a grip.

 

Cinder's nightmares were becoming much more common than her dreams. 

Before Beacon fell, she had no recollection of what she dreamed of. She'd simply sleep, and when she awoke, her mind would consciously move on, scattering the fragments of memory tied to the dream like a broom sweeping away the leaves after they fall from the tree. That was another problem that had arisen since she'd acquired the powers of Fall- she kept making stupid metaphors in her head whenever her mind drifted.

Now, however, her nightmares were most consistent, and more memorable. She imagined that it was she, not Amber, who had been the Fall Maiden that was attacked, left in a tube and forced to stare into those eyes as they plunged a blade into her heart. Sometimes that damnable Nikos won, or the transfer went through. The worst ones were when she lost to Ozpin after getting the powers. Those ones were just _embarrassing_. 

A lot of the time, she simply remembered how it happened. She shot Amber, got the powers, killed Ozpin and Nikos... and then that silver-eyed girl would come soaring from below like the reaper, and incinerate half of her.

Cinder would sooner die than admit it, but if it hadn't been for Emerald making her way to the tower and misdirecting Branwen into not seeing either of them as he collected Rose, she likely would have been killed on that tower. 

And so she awoke, the phantom pains searing across her face and eye. She grimaced, climbing out of bed and limping for the bathroom. Her shower was quick, brief; the time for pleasantries could wait until after her recovery. For now, she had to train, get back the power she had lost- 

She snapped back into focus. Shook her head, turned off the faucet. Toweled off, by herself, with mild difficulty and got dressed. Cinder stopped in front of the mirror, fingering her black mask. She slipped it on, closing her eye for a second.

When she opened her eye again, Amber stood behind her with a fire in her eyes, wrapping her hands around her neck and  _twisting_ -

* * *

 

Cinder gasped, nearly flying out of the bed. She curled her legs up to her chest, fighting to keep her breathing under control. The damnable rasps were her only company in the silence, but slowly, and surely, she calmed down, got dressed for real this time. She'd gone back to her room after training to get a nap. It hadn't worked in her favor. 

A knock sounded. "Cinder?" Emerald called through the door. "Are you awake?" Her voiced lowered a notch. "I'll wait for a half-hour. If you don't open your door by then, I'll leave."

Cinder considered leaving her there until she was forced to leave her own room, but she knew that Emerald had never actually left after thirty minutes. She knew she'd tucked away a pillow and blanket in case Cinder kept her out there for the entire day. She walked over to the door, heels clicking, rapped on it thrice- the code for "I'm awake and presentable."

She backed away and it opened, Emerald on the other side with some first aid supplies. "I wanted to take a look at your eye," she explained, fingers tapping on the small bad containing the gauze and ointments. "I thought it was about time to change the bandages, at least." Her gaze ducked as Cinder kept looking at her. "If that's OK with you, Ma'am."

Cinder nodded, since she knew Emerald would keep pressing her about it- about as much as Emerald could press Cinder, given how the red-eyed girl could sometimes be as pathetic as a wounded puppy- moving over to the bed and sitting on it expectantly. Not six months ago, she'd have snapped at Emerald for this sort of preemptive thinking-  _"What do I keep telling you? Don't think, obey."_ but now she could only snap at the voices in her head, otherwise her room, with its hues of red, black and purple and its queen sized bed with golden embroideries, was so silent one could hear a pin drop.

It was too large. Too impersonal. Nothing of hers was out on display- no pictures, no memories at all. She didn't like it. It was too open, it let her thoughts roam free.

The problem with being rendered nearly mute was that when the voices snapped back, you really couldn't retort. 

Amber lounged on the bed behind Cinder and Emerald, splaying out like she was queen of the castle. Of all of Fall's hosts that came to torment her, Amber was most frequent. Cinder supposed she couldn't blame her; she  _had_ shot her in the back, after all. And the heart, she added. Though in a rare moment of honesty from the former Maiden, she had admitted that each Maiden tended to see the previous one the most. 

"So, how's your day been? More meetings where everyone openly mocked you for having ultimate power and losing it in the  _near-literal_ last second? Training to regain a fraction of what you had before you robbed me of what was mine? Rasping out anything you need said to your little slave here? Must be exciting." 

Cinder honestly would have minded less had Amber ever _shut up._

"Can't do that, darlin'. Cause, you know, I have to talk for both of us since you find yourself bereft of a working mouth." 

Cinder growled, and Emerald pulled her hand away with the cotton swab she had been dabbing at Cinder's scars. "Sorry," she muttered. 

Cinder shook her head, gestured for her to keep going. Emerald returned her attention to Cinder's scars, her other hand holding her head steady. Even Amber stayed silent, having kicked off the bed and moved over to the window.

Emerald put down the swab. "I need to remove the patch," she mumbled. Cinder nodded her consent and braced herself, wincing slightly as more bandages were pulled off and the cold air hit her skin. 

Emerald looked away briefly as the patch fell onto the bed, composing herself. Cinder pointedly ignored the hints of tears in Emerald's eyes as the swab descended on where her eye that would not open lay. 

Amber sat behind Emerald, placing her head on the girl's shoulder. "I don't know what you did to this poor girl, but even I've got to find the irony where you broke the mind of a girl who tricks other people's minds is... rather fitting." She shuddered. "But getting her to blindly love you while you treated her like a lapdog... you really are something else."

Cinder kept ignoring the apparition, staring blankly ahead as Emerald continued her thankless task. 

A memory came unbidden to her. Cinder blinked, and instead of Emerald tending her eye in the room of red, black and purple, she was sitting under a tree in the middle of a desert. A girl about her age, navy-blue eyes standing out against dark skin, was wrapping a bandage around her leg. 

"That last one nearly got you," her name- Cerise- came to her in a flash. "Why do you have to be so damn reckless, Amber?" 

Cinder threw her head back, a sparkling grin on her face. "Because they never see it coming. For you see, I am the mistress of surprise." 

"I doubt that-" Cerise started, deadpan, before Amber... Cinder? Fall herself?... surged forward like water from a burst damn, capturing her lips, pressing her back against the tree, popping off the buttons on her shirt-

Cinder came back to. No desert. No palm tree. Just her, Emerald, and a scarred eye. 

Emerald examined her work, nodded grimly. "It's getting better," she told Cinder, a shaky smile on her face. She reached for a bandage. "Just need to put this on and we'll be done and you can get some rest." 

"Because that's exactly what you want," Amber smiled, propped against the door, "you, all alone in this big room, with nothing but your thoughts? Sounds like a night in Heaven to me."

Cinder kept ignoring the now dead Fall Maiden, waiting for Emerald to finish tying off the bandage and put her mask back on.

Emerald nodded again, packing up her supplies. "Well, um, goodnight Ma'am." 

"Emerald," Cinder rasped out. Her throat already ached from the three syllables. 

"Ma'am, you really shouldn't talk, your throat-"

"Emerald. Stay." Cinder hesitated. "Please?" 

Emerald looked... conflicted. Like she was trying to understand a word from a forgotten language, yet hoped the request was true. Her eyes shone in hope, and she pointed at herself. Cinder nodded. 

Emerald closed the door, anticipation, hesitation and raw nerves making her jumpy as Cinder crept up behind her. She let Emerald gently pin her to the wall as they kissed, Emerald practically shuddering in rapturous joy. Cinder closed her eyes, enjoying the simple feeling of skin on skin for a few short moments, recalling a short time in the warehouse she, Emerald and Mercury had been in before infiltrating Beacon. It had been a quick encounter, done in the dark more for the sake of doing it than any real pleasure, but she hung on to it now in lieu of anything else.  

She opened her eyes, lustful amber eyes meeting hers... wait, amber? No-

Amber smiled, grabbing Cinder and kissing her as she ran a knife across her throat. 

She snapped back to, Emerald backing off slightly, red eyes blown with lust. "I..." She trailed off. 

Cinder grabbed her by her shoulders, pushing her onto the bed and stalking after her. She hadn't had power like this over someone since Beacon. And dead Maidens be damned, Cinder was going to  _enjoy_ having this kind of power, and she watched passively as Emerald, in a near-frenzy, kicked off her boots and pulled off her shirt. She'd not be held down by nightmares and illusions from a voice in her head. She'd treat it like the White Fang.

Regroup, recuperate, and retaliate. Amber could fuck off as far as Cinder cared.

She un-clipped her dress, letting it fall to the floor as she climbed onto the bed with Emerald.

* * *

Cinder came to slowly a few hours later, the silk sheets rubbing her skin as her eye fluttered open. Emerald slept with her bare back to her, dried sweat still glistening. She ran a hand along the smooth skin, gently kissing between the shoulder-blades. Emerald stirred and Cinder froze, waiting until her companion drifted back to sleep. Resting her head against the back of Emerald's neck, Cinder wrapped an arm around her, eye flickering shut.

Maybe this time, if she hung onto this memory, she would be able to dream peacefully.

* * *

**In retrospect, I'm glad I did the Summer chapter on the same day as the Oscar chapter. I was out for much of the 7th and was dead tired when I got home, so I wouldn't have had the energy to do something half as good as it. Need to go back and fix some grammar errors, though; while 1AM writing can be good, it also means you barely see the errors (And yes, I posted it at one in the morning, so it counts as a separate day to upload on).**

**But anyway, Cinder Fall (And by extension Emerald and Mercury, who much like in Volume 4 doesn't get shit to do). One of the better antagonists in the show in my opinion, Cinder was a delight in volume 1-3; it's rare to get a female villain who's so unrepentant in her villainous ways and is also so brutal. I honestly would be quite disappointed if Cinder was to be redeemed before the end of the show. Not only would it undermine how much of a monster she was in orchestrating the Fall of Beacon, but it would feel like erasure of those actions. I may not like Jaune much, but I can never see him accepting Cinder if she defected- he'd probably run her through after what she did to Pyrrha.**   **And while her arc in Volume 4 is about getting over it, the idea of a _villain_ being the one ironically most broken by her victory appealed to me. **

**So, this was a different story at first- still focused on Cinder, but instead giving her what seems to be Cinder's most common fanon backstory- wicked stepmother, Salem, training, Amber, etc (The only thing I regret losing from this draft was a Team Fortress 2 reference where I basically made Sniper an acclaimed scholar through Cinder referencing the "so long as there's two people on the planet," line). But then it randomly came to me- one of the more popular ideas for Maiden powers is that they spiritually live on through their current host. Well, I can't see many of Fall's previous hosts being _happy_ about their new residence in Cinder's head. Especially, say, the person she killed for it. And motherfucker, I will  _leap_ on a chance to write Amber. Can't ever say I expected to write Amber as a horror villain, though. **

**Just to get this out of the way though, I don't actually ship Cinder/Emerald. I think it's an abusive relationship, both emotionally and physically... but this is from Cinder's perspective, so that doesn't matter.**

**Besides, I needed to practice writing horror anyway. It's probably not good here, but my favorite kind of horror is psychological. Any nutjob with a knife can string up a corpse, but the true beauty of horror is in hurting someone without laying a scratch on them and having them destroy themselves.**

**_Coughs_ ... Well, anyway, hope you liked it. I know I didn't, looking back on this; I'm probably gonna redo this story in future.**

**In advance, I'm taking June 9th off to focus on other stories and let my batteries recharge. I'll just say now, I'd likely have done the Nuck.**

 


	9. Professor (Ozpin)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which no matter what Ozpin does, it always gets corrupted and thrown back in his face.

Ozpin had made more mistakes than any man, woman or child. His first was letting Salem live.

They stood alone, in a desolate field beyond the known world. Two of the most powerful magisters that the world had ever seen, a man and woman who scoffed at limits of morality and science and kept pushing their magic. Cracking the code to immortality would have been difficult alone. Together, it only took fifteen years, during which time they also invented star charts after an ill-timed birthday jab.

The world had been theirs. No one would oppose them; who could? They had the power, could track any with the latent blood for magic and guide them down the proper paths of magic. 

But Salem kept pushing. Past even the limits that they had themselves created as a measure to know when they had gone too far. It was one thing to experiment on the Grimm. It was another to  _bond_ with them, pervert the soul with an entity that had no soul.

He had to stop her. It broke his heart, but he had to keep her from hurting anyone. 

He had lured her out here, beyond the world as was known. No chance of collateral damage; he would sooner die before hurting an innocent when it was avoidable. 

"You can stop this," he pleaded, holding out a hand. "We can work together, put everything back together as it was." 

But the Brother of Darkness had sunk his tendrils in long ago. Salem had been beautiful, with vibrant hair and silver eyes bright enough to outshine the sun. Now she was a wraith, a specter. So cold her veins ran along her arms in plain sight. 

But even with that corruption, she was still there. A fragment, at least, of the woman he had worked with and fell in love with. It was in the hesitation that ran across Salem's face in that second where Ozpin saw her die. 

Her face hardened. "There's no going back," she said, more to herself. "I've gone too far Ozpin. Let me finish what I started and walk away." 

He couldn't do that. He drew magic into his hand, his sorrow charging it. 

"Then forgive me," he whispered.

That land would never be the same after they clashed. It had been chosen for a reason; it was so far away that neither would be able to to run into a new body to hide in and rechage the batteries. Ozpin couldn't even find it, years later. Mountains were forged and shattered in the fraction of time between a heartbeat. The heat of the sun and the freeze of a glacier met and leveled all around them. It was hard to tell how long they fought, but it was long enough that at one point they were so tired they just... sat down, made a fire and talked until the sun rose. Remembered all of the good memories and skipped over the bad ones. Then the sun rose and the fire was snuffed out, so the conflict could begin anew. 

Light met Darkness and, much like at the end of a tunnel, Light eventually won. Ozpin held Salem against a rock, cane at her throat. They were exhausted. But all he had to do to end it was press down a little more, and her neck would snap.

But he couldn't. Part of it was just love, part of it the unwillingness to kill. And part of it was sheer, raw greed; he needed her alive so he had someone to compete with.

"Leave Remnant," he barked hoarsely at her. "Never return, or I will finish what I started." 

He walked away, not looking back as she scrambled for air. He would always regret not killing her, but Ozpin always wondered; if they had met again, could he finish the job? Maybe that was why he surrounded himself with others- individuals who were ready to blacken their souls with murder. 

* * *

 

Ozpin had made more mistakes than any man, woman or child. His most shameful was returning to the world and giving it the Maidens.

After Salem, he had left the world. Gone in the deepest forest he could find and lived off the land for a century or five. He let his beard grow out, kept the Grimm population thinned in this part of the world to make it easier for the people to live.

Even in exile, he couldn't help but influence them, it seemed. But that was all he did; he stayed away from people, misdirected them back onto the beaten paths when they came close. Only a Silver Eyes could have stayed the course long enough to reach his cottage. Unless you happened to reach the cottage while Ozpin was distracted, of course.

It wouldn't have been enough for one person to get in, though. No, Ozpin was so distracted, so lost in thought that  _four_ people found him. Within a year.

Winter came first, just wandering by until she saw him struggling with his crops and offered to help. Ozpin was flustered enough that he didn't even remember to warn her off returning until after she had left. They had spoken while they worked, Winter occasionally giving him some advice she had heard regarding meditation and focus. 

It was a month later this his crops were effected by a blight. He localized it, but found himself bereft of food until Spring showed up with a basket. She had some spare crops, she offered, and it would be terrible to leave you here alone when I could help? She spent the rest of the day, despite him asking her not to, replanting the seeds she could spare. His garden never had a problem afterwards.

Summer got him to leave his wards for the first time in centuries. She had overheard poachers and hunters bragging about finding a pack of deer out in the woods, and she had run out to scare them away before they died. What she failed to account for was the poachers having set up traps before returning home, resulting in her walking onto a bear trap. Her screams had run across the forest, and the old hero in Ozpin, the man of science and magic before he and Salem had tossed morality to the wayside, dashed out of the barriers without a second thought to bring her back to his cottage so he could tend to the wound. They spoke after she regained consciousness, Summer asking why he did not live with the rest of the townspeople. He refused to answer, but she pressed on; someone of his power would be a valuable resource to the village. He finished healing her and sent her on her way, looking at the barrier and preparing an enchantment. 

When Fall stumbled across the cottage, masquerade lifted, Ozpin offered her tea- it was just off the stove, he insisted, I made too much anyway. Fall had been asking for directions, to the nearest sharp drop. Ozpin was sharp enough when he saw the despair in her eyes to know what she was looking for on those cliffs, so he and she began to talk. They spoke until the sun had long faded over the horizon, both through complete accident convincing the other that what they had was worth staying around and fighting for. When Fall did leave, sniffling slightly, she was going the opposite direction from where Ozpin knew the cliffs were.

At the end of the year, he left invitations to the four sisters- his flair for theatricality stoked at the prospect of what he was doing. When they came, confused to meet the other, he arrived and thanked each of them for what they had accomplished. In return for their kindness he told them, he was going to grant them the same powers of creation that their names embodied, so that they could spread their gifts across all the land.

Had he known that those powers would be twisted and perverted, would he have just wiped their memories of him after they left the cottage and never rejoined humanity again? He couldn't say. 

* * *

Ozpin had made more mistakes than any man, woman or child. His last mistake was failing to prevent Cinder Fall from gaining the Fall Maiden powers.

It hurt, listening to Nikos screaming in the tube as Amber's soul was merged with hers. Arc was distracted, trying to get him to stop, but the process was too unstable for him to lose focus. Ozpin allowed himself to hope, just briefly as the Aura transfer took place. That this pain could serve a purpose beyond just breaking yet another teenager. Ozpin had made more mistakes than any man, woman or child. That didn't mean he saw this as just one more for the list. 

He would never forgive himself, and never justify what he did tonight as the ends justifying the means. It was a horrific evil. But he would be judged when his time came, and not a moment sooner. And if this evil could save the people of Vale, he would damn himself a thousand times over for each and every one of them. 

And then an arrow slid past the glass and into Amber's heart. 

Pyrrha broke free, Jaune was knocked aside, and Cinder gained what she stole half of six months prior. 

Pyrrha charged, but he held out an arm, stopping her. "Take Jaune and get out of here! Find Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow... bring there here right away." He looked at Cinder, still shrouded in the fire. "The tower cannot fall." 

"I can help..." Nikos tried to say. 

"You'll only get the way," Ozpin replied simply.  _If I can save even one more student from dying for this cause, then so be it._

Pyrrha finally nodded, running to grab Jaune before making a break for the elevator. Cinder watched them leave, oddly calm, before setting her gaze on him. 

Ozpin snapped out his cane. 

"This whole time,  _right beneath our feet,_ " she snarled. Given how she had presumably been behind the infiltration miss Rose intercepted, she was likely kicking herself for not knowing sooner. The twisted thought brought a smirk to Ozpin's face for a second before he composed himself. 

"She was right about you," she continued, still calm and serene. "Such arrogance." 

He couldn't win. Powerful as he was, the Maidens were just more powerful than him when they knew what they were doing, and Cinder knew exactly what she was doing.

But that didn't mean he would go down without a fight. If he had to die to make up for his mistakes, then let this be the end.

* * *

**Ah, Ozpin. He's a cool dude, can't say I dislike him. I do enjoy that he's a rather harsh deconstruction of the Fantasy Teacher archetype, in that when he lets his students go on dangerous missions... they often wind up getting hurt and nearly killed. But Ozpin himself admits- "I've made more mistakes than any man, woman or child combined." And he doesn't seem the type to forget the sacrifices of the fallen.**

**Not a lot was changed for this story- Ozpin's quote, as you might have seen, was something that's stuck with me since Volume 1. So this kinda came together pretty well. The only thing I cut was a segment where I engaged in the "Ozpin was the King of Vale" theory, wherein his most prideful mistake was entering the Great War, but I cut it for length.**

**Anyway, I took off the 9th to write Hunters. The prompt was for a Creature of Grimm, and while I had an idea or two, I... just wasn't feeling up to it, honestly. I woke up, re-read the Cinder chapter and just couldn't stomach it. I'm definitely gonna at least try to redo that after the Art Challenge wraps up. I'm still gonna get about... let's round up and say twenty five of the prompts done, so I'm cool with that.**

**Anyway, June 11th marks a RWBY OC prompt. See you then.**


	10. Chapter 10: OCs (Hunters in the Dark)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cinder finds a friend in a bar

**In advance, this is part of my RWBY/Destiny Crossover 'Hunters of the Dark,' which follows three Guardians who get stuck on Remnant around the start of Volume 1, make butterfly effects and all shoot down Yang because they're too old for teenagers. I'm assuming like the pretentious prat that I am that anyone reading Hunters is up to date on the recent chapter, which wrapped up Volume 1. If you haven't, then sorry in advance because this may not make a lot of sense.**

* * *

 

 

The tavern was occupied to about half-capacity as Cinder led her little posse in. The booths were mostly empty, most of the crowds gathered around open tables in the middle of the room, while the bar itself was occupied by the sort that couldn’t bear to be far away from their coveted narcotics. A band was playing, a soft guitar wafting through the space. This was far from Cinder’s usual choice of places to drink, but a message had come through on a scroll that only three people in the world knew of; herself, Salem, and the man she was looking for today. If he wanted to talk, she would damn well walk across the Vacuo deserts to meet him.

Mercury winced as they sat down in a corner booth- his legs had taken a beating in the fight and it hadn’t been long since he had gained them. Marcus Black’s final gift had necessitated that Mercury lose his legs below the knee before Mercury had put a bullet in the back of his skull. His nerves were still frayed and he would likely suffer from phantom pains for the next few years, but this was all irrelevant to Cinder. Mercury could fight, and would fight, at her beck and call. His own vices and pains were otherwise not her problem unless they began to interfere with the plan.

And Emerald? She’d been travelling with Cinder for two weeks and already Cinder had the little girl wrapped around her finger. She’d follow like a loyal dog, and if she stepped out of line, would be corrected in short measure.

Eventually, she strolled up to the bar to order some drinks, her gaze shifted to the booth diagonally opposite from where Emerald and Mercury were. One of the few occupied booths, it had Dredgen sitting in it, contemplating a glass. His armour fit in well here, making him look like a Huntsman from Atlas- smooth, practical gunmetal grey armour over the chest, the legs having patterned metal along the front. He had a helmet beside him on the table, lying atop a neatly folded green cape. Slicked back dark hair accompanied startlingly green irises, almost seeming to pulse in the sockets. Beside the cape was a gun- a revolver, sleek and dark black, with spikes adorning the sides facing the front of the weapon. He took a drink, reaching for the gun and sliding it into a holster beside him as he poured more liquid into the glass. As he did, three people came up, two men and a woman. Cinder felt her lips curl in disgust, but listened in. He’d be able to handle it, so she decided to enjoy the show.

One of them stepped in front of the others. “Can I see what ya got there?” The man sitting down seemed to ignore them, looking deeply into the glass and tilting the liquid back and forth.

“Your cannon. Can I see it?” The leader came in closer, the other two goons taking places to the left and right of the entryways to the booth. At this, the drinker put his glass down, looking across at the leader. His eyes were a pale green, almost seeming to… flicker, in and out of the iris.

“I know you?” His accent wasn’t from around here, soft and clipped.

“Not that I could say.”

“And you wanna hold my piece.” A hint of something came into his voice. One could construe it as wryness, but Cinder heard something under it. Malice. She smirked, leaning against the bar.

“Just that I never…” the leader stopped, as if searching for the words. “… seen one like it. What’s your name?”

Dredgen seemed to smirk. “No, you haven’t. Yor.”

“Looks… _dangerous_ , Yor.”

“Seems, maybe, that’s the point.” Something passed through his eyes- like he was recollecting an old memory- but only for a moment before his gaze hardened.

“Suppose so.” The leader nodded in agreement. “Can I _see_ it?”

“Not likely.” The man reached for his glass again.

“Where’d you find it?” As Dredgen took a long sip from the glass, the leader tensed up. “You hearin’ me?”

The second interloper, the one sitting to the left stepped in. “He asked you a question-”

“Didn’t find it. Made it.” The look of recollection resumed, and he put his glass back down.

The second let out a bemused breath. “Heh. Helluva touch you got then. You a 'smith?”

Yor leaned back in his seat, catching Cinder’s eye as he smiled, noticing her. “I _look_ like a smith?”

Cinder raised an eyebrow. “Looks can be deceiving.”

His gaze returned to the leader of the trio in front of him. His eyes raked up and down the slovenly dressed man. Cinder saw a gun in his back pocket, the handle sticking out. _Bandit, most likely- too poorly dressed to be a guard, too few weapons and too little Aura to be a Huntsman, too proud of himself to do menial labour._ She scoffed inwardly at the poor management of his weapon, its positioning making a quick draw impossible. Dredgen spoke finally. “Got that right.”

The second bandit tensed up alongside his boss. “There a problem?”

The not-smith shook his head politely. “Doesn’t need to be.”

The leader nodded. “Glad we got that cleared up. Now… about that piece.”

“Ever been to Luna?” Dredgen interrupted suddenly, looking intently into the eyes of the trio around him.

“Excuse me?”

“The Moon.” His tone became notably drier. “You been?”

The leader scoffed, leaning back. “No one’s been.”

“That a truth?”

“A _fact._ ”

Dredgen smiled. “Funny you’d make that distinction.”

The leader snarled, leaning over Dredgen. “Truth is you must think you're some kinda something special. With that attitude. The way you're just dismissin' us like we're nothing...like we ain't even here.” He scoffed.

“Fact is...You ain't near as rock solid as you figure. Fact is, special's only special 'til it's not.”

A lengthy silence issued, Dredgen seeming to mull over the words. “Bones say otherwise.”

The leader sniffed. “Speak straight.”

“He said ‘nobody.’ Bones say otherwise.”

The third bandit, a woman with close-cropped blonde hair, leaned forward. “What bones?”

“All of them.” As if that answered the question succinctly.

She pressed on, the other two letting her talk. “What’re you getting at?”

“Too many to count.”

“You tryin’ to get a rile out of us?” The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Was only tryin’ to make conversation.

Dredgen let out a small chuckle, catching himself. “You really weren’t.”

The bandit smiled in response, looking at her compatriots. “We got a smart one here.”

Dredgen interjected. “Experienced, more than smart. But experience has its… advantages, lets you see your enemies clear as day so you can face them.” He shook his head. "To rend one's enemies is to see them not as equals, but objects- hollow of spirit and meaning.” He spoke like he was quoting someone else.

She looked back at him. “Experience tell you to lip off to strangers just tryin’ to make talk?”

“Keep insisting,” Dredgen’s eyes narrowed as his voice lowered, the fragmented green sticking out against his skin. “And maybe we will.”

“Talk?”

“Have _words_.”

“Ain’t that what we’re doing?”

“My conversations tend to be a bit… _louder_.”

Cinder’s breath hitched and her smile widened. The way he emphasized that last word spoke wonders. The malice she saw earlier had edged in fully now, and he was partially coiled like a serpent ready to strike.

Silence ensued between the bandits engaged in conversation and their observer. The female bandit tilted her head. “That a threat?”

“A truth.”

She bared her teeth at him. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“According to your facts,” he snapped. “Nobody. And here I sit.”

She scoffed. “Don't matter much how pretty yer cannon is. You keep it up, we'll see just how loud you like to get.” Yor seemed to exhale at this, as if holding in a breath for longer than he should have. He slumped in his seat, staring back into his drink as he refilled it.

“You done talking now?” She pressed on, voice growing louder. “Guess he knows his place boys.”

“Ever have a nightmare?” His voice was quiet. Cinder leaned in instinctively. She noted offhandedly that Emerald and Mercury had moved up beside her, watching the conversation raptly.

The other underling to the leader smiled at the other two bandits. “You playing games? Or you just thick?”

“I know you do,” he pressed. “This world? Can’t help, but to.”

“I don’t have nightmares,” the leader bragged. He grabbed Dredgen’s bottle and took a swig, ignoring the glare. “I give ‘em.”

Dredgen laughed, harshly. It was devoid of mirth and joy, leaving it sounding more like a rattle of his throat than a laugh. “You are a goddamn cliché. The picture-perfect bandit.”

He pressed on, his voice steadily becoming lower. “Hearing your voice - the things you're saying, the shade of the hard man you pretend to be-”

“I ain’t no shade!” The leader slammed his hands down on Yor’s table, the movement letting him slide his hands underneath.

His first shot slammed up through the table, catching the leader through one of his lungs and sliding past what little Aura the man had. Before Emerald could even flinch or shout in horror, Yor’s gun arm was raised above the table, firing twice more into the throats of the other two bandits. The bodies hit the ground, spikes jutting out of their throats and the music cut out. People started to scream, rushing out the door or under tables. The leader started choking, trying to scramble to his feet to make a break for the door. Yor casually followed him, nodding at Cinder and her posse, until the leader nearly fell over a pool table, before grabbing him.

“Sit down.” The leader tried to break free, but Dredgen backhanded him with his cannon, drawing blood. He threw him down at the edge of the table. “Sit. _Down_.”

“Wait,” Cinder murmured to Emerald and Mercury, both with their weapons ready. “Watch how this plays out.”

Yor was granted a wide area by the townspeople streaming out, letting him back up a few steps, gaze never leaving the bandit. “Your mouth just got your friends dead.” He leaned in closer, looming over the wounded man. “This is what happens when you _bore_ me.” His tone was repressed, hiding raw, animalistic rage within. “And right now?” She could imagine the grin stretching across his face. “I’m so _very_ bored.”

“Wha… wha…” Yor shushed quietly, but the leader kept talking. “But...but...you're a... you’re one of them...A Huntsman, or a Specialist, right?” He tilted his head. “You’re supposed to be one of the good ones.”

“’Supposed to be?’ Maybe I am.” He stretched his arms out wide. “Maybe this is what good looks like. Anymore,” he said quietly, almost whispering. “Who can tell?” He lowered his arm, cannon held loosely by his side.

“I… please…”

“You wanted to see my prize.”

“No… I…”

“Look at it.”

“I… I…” He started whimpering, eyes brimming with tears. Cinder resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Yor’s tone became cold, uncaring and mocking. “Whimpering won’t stop what comes next. Look at it.” The man’s eyes closed, tears falling through. “Open your eyes.”

They slowly cracked open, seeing the cannon inches away from his face.

“Not many get to see such a clean view,” Yor noted, as if teaching a child. The man started crying again. “The bone, you see it. Jagged, like thorns. I used to think of it as a rose… focused on its bloom. But that bloom is just a by-product of its anger.” He trailed off.

“You have nightmares?” He asked again suddenly. The sobbing began to grow in desperation. “Ever seen a nightmare? Ever opened your eyes and realized the horror wasn't a dream? The terror wasn't gone?”

“I’ve seen nightmares.” His voice dipped low, sounded more like he was talking to himself now and that the other patrons didn’t matter in this lecture. “They live in the shadows. They've been watching. I thought...It's foolish, I know...but I thought I saw a way. That maybe we could win. Maybe we could survive. But once you step into those shadows, it's so very hard to walk in the Light.”

The gun wavered. Cinder caught his specific pronunciation of “light.” She had heard that tone before- when he slipped up and referred to more of his past than he was comfortable with.

“Or…” Yor exhaled, his head dipping down into the cloth surrounding his neck. “Maybe I just wasn’t strong enough.” He raised his head, and the gun stopped shaking. “But I feel strong now.” The sobbing continued, and Dredgen looked at his gun.

“I stole the Dark,” Dredgen continued. “Or… maybe it stole me and threw me away to this corner of the world. Either way… here we are. And I’m hungry. It’s… hungry.” The bandit’s eyes widened before closing rapidly, his breathing becoming rapid and shrill.

Yor crouched down beside the man, staring at him through a tilted head. “You have nothing to you beyond the spark of your pathetic life. But a spark… is enough.” He stood back up, levelling the cannon to the leader’s head.

“Open… your eyes.” The sobbing continued, eyes cracking open a notch to look at Yor.

Cinder didn’t flinch as he fired, sipping her drink as the crowd began screaming again. She put it on the table behind her, ignoring Emerald’s pale complexion and shivering as Yor strolled past them back to his seat, resuming his drink. Emerald saw her expression.

“You can’t be thinking of recruiting him…” she whispered.

Cinder smiled. “Why do you think we came out this way? But no, he’s been a part of this plan for a long time.” When Emerald opened her mouth again, she darted a hand out, shutting the green-haired girl’s mouth. “And I won’t hear a world otherwise. You’re not paid to think, you’re paid to obey. So, obey this order: don’t get in the way.” Emerald nodded, the resistance leaving her eyes as they glazed over, and the clasp on her mouth became a gentle stroke on the cheek. “Good girl,” Cinder cooed.

She left Mercury and Emerald behind, Mercury raising an eyebrow at Cinder’s behaviour while Emerald shuddered, walking up to the table and sitting opposite Dredgen. He looked at her from over the edge of his glass. He seemed, Cinder noticed, to be weightless – effortless in an existence that would crush a man burdened by conscience “You got my message then, child.”  

Her hand met his, under the table. Cinder presented him with a rare genuine smile. “It’s been a while. You’re looking well.”

Dredgen’s gaze travelled over Mercury and Emerald, finally taking in Cinder as well. “Better than you, I’d wager. I expected the new Fall Maiden to… well, radiate power.”

“There was… a complication,” she conceded reluctantly, “an unexpected ally for Fall.”

“We prepared for Branwen-”

“Not him.” She fixed him with a hard gaze. “Someone from _your_ side. Which I would have appreciated more of a warning about.”

“Ah,” he said simply as his eyes darkened. “That is a complication, and one that, let’s be honest, I don’t think any of us could have expected. Luckily, I can help you salvage your plan.”

“Do tell.”

“I know where the Summer Maiden will be in three weeks, and I know how to hide our actions for so long that they won’t know she’s gone dark for a half-year if we’re lucky.”

Another genuine smile graced Cinder’s face. “What would I do without you?”

“You’d adapt and survive, carve your name into history regardless. Even if I hadn’t raised you, you’d have found a way into this life regardless. Is your team ready to move?”

“We just got off the road. I can keep going, but they…”

Dredgen shrugged. “Another day won’t be the end of the world. We’ll make up for any time lost here when we get back to Atlas.”  

* * *

**Technically speaking, there _is_ a day which is devoted to crossovers. But I'm not doing Hunters on that day for Reasons (Read: I want to do a different crossover then). So I decided now would be as good a time as any to write some more Hunters and flesh out the backstories of some other characters. In this case, Dredgen Yor, who is on Remnant. How and why? Hunters will get there... in time. **

**Also, I needed to do Cinder justice after the abomination of that snippet, so this is my apology to Miss Fall- the cool, collected, 'sips her drink as her friend shoots a man dead after lecturing him' villain we fell in love with. Oh, and also an emotionally abusive monster, can't forget that.**

**June 12th marks dead characters. Now, let's see (Takes out list) I've already done Summer, Pyrrha, Amber... guess I'm gonna be going back to the Deadheads tomorrow whether I like it or not.**

**(Twist ending where I do the Shion Huntsman instead was considered and rejected)**

 


	11. Deceased Character (Roman Torchwick)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Roman lies, cheats, steals and survives his way into and out of Vale.

When Roman was a young boy, he dreamed of wearing clean clothes. All of the clothes he wore as a child were hand-me-downs, bargain bin purchases bought not for comfort or because they were nice on the eyes, but "Roman, don't complain, this is all we could afford this month." 

One day, walking home from school, the second-hand shop had a hat on display; a beautiful little bowler hat adorned with a red feather that stole his heart with a wink and a smile. He  _begged_ his parents; promised to do all the chores around the house for months- no, a year! But they were sorry, they said. They just couldn't afford it with the money they had while also getting Roman to a combat school.

So he stole it; stuffed it in a brown paper bag that he'd used to buy a birthday card earlier that day, and a month later began to wear the hat after the search for the thief faded. He took that much time to perfect his first major lie- that the owner was just giving it away- and no one questioned it. When Roman left town to go to Beacon, he never looked back.

* * *

 

Roman was part of a team. A family of choice, rather than blood. His team wasn't one of those ones that descended into love triangles of who fucked who, they were all either not interested in love or just refused to mix business with pleasure- Roman was one of those. When one of the other students asked why his team never did the usual inter-team dating, he had scoffed.

"You think any of these relationships will last? It's teenage rebellion and lust mixing. None of those relationships will live to see a decade." 

It was cynical of him, and not his usual behavior. Roman smiled a lot more back then- genuine smiles at that. He may not have wanted to take his team to bed, but by the time they graduated, they were indeed a family of choice. 

And then Mountain Glenn happened.

The place had fallen faster than planned, the Grimm just kept swarming. When Roman last saw it before going underground, half the city had been on fire. Roman had been getting some of the last civilians out when, almost cutting off the edge of his torn and bloodied jacket, the door sealed behind him. 

His team were behind that door. He stood there, watching the door in mute silence as Melodic Cudgel slipped out of his grasp, clattering against the ground. The civilians parted around him as the whispers began. 

_"He was one of the Huntsmen, right?"_

_"Oh by the gods, his whole team..."_

_"His team are behind that door!"_

_"We can't open it, did you see how many Grimm were behind us? We open that door, we're all dead!"_

Roman almost didn't take in the hand on his shoulder. Port stood beside him. Oobleck's hands were clutched around his thermos, like was giving thought to just smashing down the door. 

Roman noted in the back of his head that if Oobleck did it, he'd be picking up his weapon and helping in a heartbeat. Bart had family in Mountain Glenn that hadn't been accounted for before the evacuation. Worse, he had  _teammates_ in there that weren't on this side of the barrier.

"Oh lad, I'm so sorry." Port rumbled. 

Roman didn't hear him. He lost the strength to stand, so he fell to his knees. Some of the civilians mustered the courage to quietly thank him and the others for getting them out. Empty platitudes meant to make him feel better at the loss. 

He lasted maybe five minutes before he started to weep. One person wrapped their arms around him. 

He looked up, seeing a girl maybe five or six years younger than him with mismatched eyes. 

* * *

"I'm not telling you again, get lost!"

Roman turned on his heel, glaring at the silent girl who just would not do him a favor and leave him _alone_. She'd been stubbornly following him since he left the hospital and was following him into an alley.

In response, her hands flew in a flurry of signs and shapes, the realization dawning on Roman like the sun creeping over the horizon. "You're mute, aren't you?"

A nod. Roman cursed under his breath, trying to remember half-forgotten sign language lessons that were mostly conducted under the rule of "Every time you fuck up, take a body shot out of someone who's unconscious."

"Listen kid, I don't know what you want or why you've been following me for an hour. So why not just tell me?" 

Another flurry of signs that stopped mid-gesture. Those mismatched eyes narrowed, and then she consciously slowed down. 

 _"My parents_ were..." she faltered, _"on the other side of the gate."_

"Shit," he muttered as the girl's face fell. "Do you have anyone?"

She shook her head. "Then why me?" He pressed. 

_"Who else would get me?"_

"Because we both lost family..." he whispered, before shaking his head. "But I am the _worst_ person to want to look after you. I can barely look after myself!"

Oobleck had work to turn back to after he lost people at Mountain Glenn. Roman only had a job that was a constant, daily reminder of what he'd lost. He'd not quit, but he would never go by the name Huntsman again. 

He had money squirreled away- a rainy day fund that he'd accumulated from the day he was old enough to set up a bank account. For all the grievances being a Huntsmen brought on someone, it paid damn well. Money wouldn't be a concern for a while if he lived conservatively. 

Well, if wouldn't be if Roman didn't find a bridge to throw himself off of first. 

"I should just bring you to an orphanage..." He ran his hand along his face, sighing. "Fine, you can come with me."

The second half of the sentence, where he would issue some form of threat to earn her keep around the place, died in his throat as the girl surged forward, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug, with a strength that seemed at odds with her size. Roman chuckled softly, running a hand along the girl's back.

"Might need to know your name, though," he mumbled. "Would look pretty odd if I just kept calling you kid."

She drew back, extracted her hands. 

_"Neo."_

"I'll look after you Neo. Don't worry." 

* * *

Roman never went into a life of crime because he was poor and needed money- though needing to buy clothes and food for Neo did bite into the budget, they got by- nor for some desire to go against the system that had enabled armchair generals that stripped him of his team. It wasn't even boredom that inspired it- he got his thrills from teaching Neo, though she quickly went her own way combat-wise. He'd have scoffed at the idea of an umbrella as a weapon, but he used a cane and he wasn't one to be called a hypocrite, so he sealed his tongue. 

It started when he was at Junior's place and overheard the guy's dad looking for muscle on a quick job- the Dust store down the way from here. Less than an hour's work for easy pay? Roman mustered his confidence, walked right in to Junior's office and got the job within five minutes. 

That became a little thing on the side. Sometimes with Neo, sometimes without. It wasn't due to any particular need- both reasoned that they could do it, and they had little better to do, so why not? Roman could have walked into Beacon and got a teaching position- he still talked with Oobleck on occasion and it came up one or twice a year. He was a smart man, and Oobleck would vouch for him.

But he always declined, more politely softly with Oobleck than if it had been Ozpin or Port. Bart knew what he'd gone through, and his teaching had helped him through it. He wouldn't insult the green-haired man.

Roman had Neo, and he had his work with Junior that was rapidly expanding. He was making friends through the bearded man, especially after he put some money into the place and became a shareholder. He wasn't out to burn down Beacon- he just didn't care enough to join their ranks, hold hands and sing kumbaya. 

After about five years, he had what felt like Vale in his grasp- fingers in every pie worth noting, contacts in the White Fang and Junior's group when he needed extra muscle, and he was a household name, yet he was nearly untouchable; after all, the public adored people like him, stealing from the rich and... well, not giving to the poor per say, but Neo might need a college fund and his men had families that needed to be fed. Regardless, he didn't usually have to worry about rats; a firm, but fair hand guided the S.S. Torchwick on its merry voyages. 

The kicker was that his apartment that he shared with Neo (No, they were _not_ fucking; Roman still refused to mix business with pleasure, especially when said person looked like she was still in her teens) was just ten minutes down the road from the nearest police station. And they walked by it every Friday when they went for ice creams on the boulevard. He got a laugh out of it every single time.

Life was turning around. It was good. There was still those nights where he or Neo would remember Mountain Glenn, have vivid nightmares of the screaming, the blood and the sky that seemed to almost be alive with how many Grimm were in it. But then Neo would hear his muffled groans and sobs, or he'd hear her tossing and turning, and they'd wake up in each other's arms. They couldn't complain.

And then Cinder Fall came calling.

* * *

 

Roman hated Grimm. Could anyone blame him? He especially hated being _eaten alive_. 

OK, it had never happened before now, but he could especially hate it. Maybe this was the universes's way of telling him that trying to beat a fifteen year old girl to death with a metal stick while Vale burned in the background was a waste of time.

To which Roman could reply that the universe could fuck  _right_ off with that. She'd hit Neo's parasol, and now she was adrift and who knows where. He'd made a promise in that alley, and he wasn't going to go back on his word. He was gonna find Neo, get out of dodge, go to Vacuo, and never be seen again. 

The swaying in the dark, cavernous expanse he was in at this point had him thinking it was in flight. Bad idea to kill it now then, since his Aura wouldn't survive the fall. But the walls were getting tighter and tighter, and he had no clue whether or not Grimm had digestive acid. Thing was, he didn't particularly want to find out. Roman Torchwick wasn't going to meet his end as part of a five-course meal.

But he waited, patiently, ignoring anything that felt like gnawing until he heard and felt an impact through the Griffin, along with the barks from outside. "Griffin! Open fire!"

Roman struck, plunging the blade he'd pocketed in case he was ever disarmed of Melodic Cudgel into whatever was in front of him. He stabbed it again and again and again, roaring bloody defiance as, finally, the knife hit not muscle or feathers, but air. 

It was a gruesome few minutes- for a species that dissolved upon death, this Griffin was either a tough cookie or just refused to die- but finally that small hole became a slit that Roman fell through. He lay there for a few minutes, gasping sweet glorious air. A couple of Atlas soldiers stood in awe as he slowly got up onto his two feet, grabbing his hat and cane and tipping the bowler towards them as he limped off. 

"Evening boys," he called over his shoulder, eyes on the skies for a flash of pink. 

* * *

 

Roman found Neo around the time Beacon tower got hit by a giant dragon before exploding with silver light. He'd been lying against some rubble on a rooftop squeezing out some juices from his coat, taking in the evacuation ships as even the Huntsmen were forced to begin retreating. 

His scroll vibrated with a slew of texts; thank God he'd bought one to last. Funny it was still getting a signal after half the tower was smashed, but only an idiot would put all the important science-y crap in one place. There was backup systems in case the tower had to go down for maintenance. System must've just gone back up, he mused.

_So did you kick little red's ass yet? :p_

_..._

_Roman?_

_Roman seriously pick up your damn scroll its freezing out here._

_ROooooooooMaaaaan_

_cmon, pick up! You think it's fun sitting her and missing out on all the action?_

_ROMAN THE AIRSHIP JUST CRASHED TEXT ME RIGHT NOW_

_DID YOU GET OFF TELL ME_

_Please... oh God please just answer_

_Don't leave me. I can't do this without you._

Roman never hit the reply button as fast in his entire life.

I made it out. Just, watch the skies.

He picked up Melodic Cudgel, firing a round off into the air- his own little 21 gun salute for Beacon. He stood up, dusting himself off as best as he could. Barely half a minute later came the sound of shattering glass he knew like the back of his hand, and then a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, a head tucked into his back. 

He turned himself around slowly, dropping to his knees and facing the teary-eyed woman before him. He'd be lying if he said he didn't have a few tears in his own eyes.

They embraced, both tugging the other closer as if they were hoping they could never let go. Both had a single phrase running through their head like a mantra.

_Don't ever worry me like that again._

Neo drew back, composed herself, exhaled and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the mismatched eyes were back with a sharp focus and a cocky smirk. 

Roman tilted his head. "What're you thinking of?" 

_Little Red's gonna think we died horrifically on that ship, right?_

Roman nodded, realization dawning. "Oh, you mean... You know what Neo? I'm done with Vale, up for a vacation to Vacuo? First week of ice cream is on me!"

Neo held up a hand.  _I've got one last thing to do before we leave._

"I saw little Red's sister leaving already, sans an arm. She's long gone."

_I was thinking more a lady in a red dress who's likely on top of the CCT. And judging by that explosion..._

"Sweet, vicious revenge on a woman likely critically wounded before fleeing to Vacuo to live comfortably as dead people?"

Neo nodded. 

Roman shrugged. "Yeah, I can live with that." A grin crossed his face. "Doubt Cinder will, though..."

* * *

Pain. Cinder's entire life was just pain as Branwen picked up that damnable Silver Eyes and fled. She couldn't feel a damn thing on her left side, couldn't even see out of that eye. But she still had her right hand, and the Maiden powers could keep her alive. She just had to reach Mercury and Emerald, get out of here, and then-

A cane slammed into place on her hand. "Hey, boss!"

Torchwick. He should have been dead, she saw the battleship going down. She couldn't focus, the pain was still too great. Otherwise, she'd have swatted him and his mute accomplice away in a fraction of a heartbeat. 

Said mute's boots came into her view as she crouched down beside Cinder, a faux-concerned expression on her face. 

"See, while this whole thing was fun and games, being inside a Griffin's digestive tract has made me re-think my life choices. Not enough to turn away from a life of crime, but enough that I really regret giving you the time of day and making a deal with you. So Cinder?" 

She managed to raise her head, staring defiantly at Torchwick as he loaded a round into his cane. 

"Don't take it personally when I renege on our agreement. But do take this personally." A savage grin broke out on his and Neo's faces. "We're gonna enjoy this." 

* * *

 

Roman and Neo panted as they made their way to the bottom of the CCT ruins- stairs were such a nuisance, especially when you spent all your energy a few minutes prior beating someone's skull in. Neo was still wiping Cinder's blood off her umbrella, nodding her head to some music in her head. 

"OK Neo,  _now_ can we fake our deaths? There's a hatshop in Vacuo I've always wanted to visit-"

Roman trailed off, staring behind Neo. Neo frowned, turning in time as a bolt of golden energy flew down the elevator and hit her in the chest. She nearly went down from it, but righted herself, staring casually as her hand lit up in flame. 

Roman chuckled nervously as Neo's eyes became shrouded in a very familiar golden flame. "You, uh, don't wanna light me on fire like the lady upstairs did, right?" 

Neo smirked at Roman, propping her umbrella on her shoulder with a gust of wind to free both her hands.

_Depends on how much ice cream you get me in Vacuo._

With that, the crime lord who stole, cheated and survived his way into Vale and its crime network, alongside his adopted daughter turned Maiden, walked out of the ruins of Vale. Like a candle going out, the two became like ghosts, leaving nothing but a broken body on top of a tower and a now-dead and decayed Griffen as proof of their departure. 

 

* * *

 

**I realized this morning when I woke up that the OC chapter... didn't actually have any OCs. Heh, my bad.**

**But Roman! What a villain. Ain't got a bad thing to say about him, Roman was just a delight during his time on RWBY. I know the prompt was for dead characters, but... screw it, it's Pyrrha all over again- I have to give Roman at least one good ending. He deserves that much. Besides, I killed off Cinder in exchange. Eye for a... blinded eye, I guess.**

**And yeah, Maiden Neo. God help Remnant in that particular AU.**

**June 13th's prompt is one I've been waiting a while for. It's Zwei, and he's about to go on a magical adventure...**

 

 


	12. Chapter 12: ZWEI!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zwei steals the show.

**This takes place between volumes 2 and 3. A little knowledge of Hunters of the Dark may be needed, but it shouldn't get the way of the core of the story.**

* * *

Vale/Vacuo border:

Teams RWBY and CFVY, along with several assorted glorified helper-monkeys, prepared for war on top of a large tower. Five pylons stood out in a pentagram shape, golden energy coiling around them. It resembled a bunch of spheres in a way.

Coco checked her scroll.  "Showtime, misfits!" A beeping started to sound, accelerating in pitch. "Won't be long now before that Grimm scales the tower." 

"Which will be its loss," Weiss replied tersely, loading Dust into Myrtenaster's revolving chamber. Sheathing it, she pulled out a small pistol, loading it and checking the slide before nodding approvingly. 

A disapproving sound came from behind the heiress, and she turned to see Noir Malphur, the Hunter twirling a revolver as he poked at some wires with Ruby. "I thought your thing was just swords?" He asked. "Now you're doing the whole sword and gun thing. I mean, it's a popular style, but I feel like you're kind of cribbing me here." 

"We've been hired to stop a Grimm the size of a small building from destroying these solar converters," Blake deadpanned, "And Weiss is going to stop it with a sword?" She paused. "And I've been doing the sword and gun thing for years. If anything, _you're_ ripping _me_ off..." 

As Blake and Noir got into an argument, Coco looked over at her gentle giant of a teammate. "Hey Yatsu, what's the deal? You're not wearing that grapple set." 

All of the students were adorned with a chest piece that had several grappling hooks tied to it- even the more agile ones such as Weiss and Blake- in case they fell off the ledge.

Yatsu looked away. "It's a bit tight," he muttered into his collar. 

"Tight?" Fox asked. 

Yatsu blushed. "It hurts my nipples." 

A booming laugh sounded from where RWBY was preparing, Yang Xiao-Long nearly bowled over laughing. "Oh God, the dude who barely even wears a toga to battle is complaining that his nipples are gonna hurt! What, is he gonna think bad thoughts at the Grimm after he gets thrown off the ledge?!"

Velvet stood up for her teammate, stopping from her quest to take quick photos of everyone's weapons. "Hey! You can hardly talk, what's Ruby doing?"

Ruby poked her head up from the maze of wires and boxes laid out in a semi-circle around her and Noir. "Noir said this was a tradition from where he came from! That Guardians listened to music while they went to work!"

Everyone looked over at Umbra and Sanguine, the other two Guardians quietly checking their own weapons. Seeing the looks, both shrugged. "He wasn't  _lying_ ," Sanguine admitted, "It's just normally we play them in our helmets and don't set up speakers." 

"Speaking of," Umbra noted, "where did you even get all these speakers?"

Noir chuckled. "I called in a favor."

* * *

 A dingy bar in Vale:

"Are you in?" Noir asked the drunk. He looked at the Hunter with lidded red eyes.

"So you want me to help you break into the Atlas embassy in Vale," he slurred, "where we will likely be shot for trespassing, so you can steal some radio speakers and do... what, exactly?"

"I dunno, in case of a rainy day scenario. Maybe I just wanna stick it to Ironwood. You in?" 

Qrow snorted. "You had me at giving the Atlas military a black eye purely to spite them." 

* * *

 "OK, but why is this important _now_?" Fox pressed. "Surely there's more important things to prepare."

Noir shrugged. "Ruby and I have been prepped for the last few minutes," he admitted. "So we ain't got much better to do until this thing shows up. Relax, I'm told my taste in music is impeccable. I'll be inspiring from the back!... Almost literally, since I'm gonna be using a sniper rifle." 

"If you put on Duran Duran-" Sanguine warned, cocking her rifle for good measure.

"... I should clarify that my taste has become impeccable since I started taking criticism on it." Noir paused. "But yeah, maybe this isn't the best idea at this exact moment, I'll admit. Maybe we should stop, Ruby. Shame, we only had a few wires left to go." Noir turned to see Ruby hastily stuffing something furry into her bag. "... You brought Zwei on the mission." He said flarly. 

As Ruby turned, a stammered excuse on her tongue, Zwei burst back out, perched magnificently on the top of the motherboard. "I couldn't just leave him alone?" 

"Why not just ask JNPR to look after him?" Blake asked, backing away from the happy corgi.

Ruby gave Blake a Look. "You'd trust Nora with a dog?" 

"Would she be bad at it?" 

"Yes!"

Blake nodded. "Then yes, I'd trust her with a thousand dogs. I'm a cat Faunus Ruby, dogs and I _don't get along._ "

Zwei stood above such abuse, tail wagging as he waddled over to Coco. The beret-adorned Huntress obliged him, scratching behind his ears before returning him to Ruby. "Just keep him behind us Red." Coco said gravely. "This Grimm's managed to get trained Huntsmen teams to retreat. If this tower falls, Vacuo's power grid suffers."

Ruby nodded, face setting like stone as she loaded Crescent Rose again. "Well it's never fought teams RWBY and CFVY!"

Coco chuckled, slapping Ruby on the shoulder. "Let's get the bastard," she grinned. Fashion Statement folded out of her purse as she walked back over to CFVY. 

A deep rumbling afoot caught everyone's attention, along with an inhuman screech as the Grimm began to climb up the tower. It was the usual colors the Grimm, red and black, but this one seemed to be inspired by an octopus. With teeth. Lots. And Lots. Of teeth. 

It had to have nearly three dozen tentacles pulling it up as it climbed the tower. 

Noir gulped. "I have never been more glad to not be a Japanese schoolgirl," he muttered.

Everyone cocked their weapons, Velvet manifesting Yatsu's sword, and as one they charged in with a giant roar, pouring fire into the best while leaping and grappling around to distract it. It was a truly heroic scene.

But Zwei didn't care about that. There was this Big Red Button by where his master had been doing her tinkering thing, and Zwei loved pushing Big Red Buttons. Which he did. With his nose. 

_Electric Light Orchestra- Mister Blue Sky_

As the music began, Zwei began to bob along to the funny noise coming out of the speakers, following some of the trailing lights on the ground. He sniffed the _shit_ out of those lights, tail vibrating at near-subsonic speeds. 

Behind Zwei, Noir had been firing from a distance with his rifle, before a tentacle knocked his platform off balance. Large plumes of fire fill the air as the platform slammed into one of the solar panels, sparking an explosion. One of the panels rolled along lazily behind everyone until it fell off the ledge. Another tentacle snatched him out of the air before he fell, tossing him onto the ground. He skidded along, stopping near Zwei, and groaned softly. 

"If you want something done right," he growled, drawing a large sword and revolver before charging in himself, shrouded in electricity. Zwei paid no heed, for he had found a glowing circle that made him shine most radiantly.

_Sun is shinin' in the sky, There ain't a cloud in sight_

He was so radiant, in fact, that he completely ignored Yang beside him, getting repeatedly slammed into the ground over and over. Every time she hit the dirt, Zwei thought he heard a funny little sound coming from her. 

Behind Zwei, as he danced in his circle of light, Sanguine hit the ground face first, legs sticking up at a funny angle. Coco dashed over, pouring fire into the Grimm with her big gun as she helped the Warlock stand up. Much of the rest of the students were busy flying around with glyphs and Semblances and grappling hooks, trying to find a weak point in the hide. 

_It's stopped rainin' everybody's in a play, And don't you know  
It's a beautiful new day, hey hey_

Sanguine fired a burst before taking off, Coco standing her ground, roaring with her minigun and her voice. She noticed Zwei, still not caring, still at his circle. "Come on ya little furball!" She cried, before a tentacle slammed into her chest, knocking her off her feet.

_Mister Blue Sky, please tell us why, you had to fly away for so long (so long), where did we go wrong?_

Zwei continued on his way, skipping merely. Yang desperately reached out to the corgi, being pulled away before she could say anything aside from a high-pitched whine as parts of her hair got snagged on the tentacle. 

Ruby was ahead of him, firing round after round into the beast. She saw Zwei out of the corner of her eye. "Zwei! Get out of the way!"

Zwei stood there, panting with his tail wagging.

She fixed him with a smile. "Hey boy." She took off in a stream of rose petals,, leaving Zwei to keep wandering. 

_Hey you with the pretty face, Welcome to the human race!_

Zwei leapt to and fro like a four-legged ballerina that he had seen Aunt Raven watch once (She had bribed him to get his silence when he walked in as a new puppy). He froze as someone slammed into the ground behind him, Blake twitching in pain. Zwei froze. She was in need... of _love!_

"No," Blake groaned as Zwei leapt onto her face, giving her the love and care that only a corgi could provide. Her face was thoroughly cleaned by the time she finally regained enough sense to knock him off and rejoin the fight. How rude of her. He was only trying to help! 

 _A celebration, mister blue sky's up there waitin'_ _And today is the day we've waited for!_

Zwei gallivanted across the circle, stopping in his tracks as something leaped off of the big slimy tentacle monster. A Creep, he believed they were called. This could not stand; Zwei was the only one allowed to roam freely on The Circle! He had marked this as his territory! Any attempts to tresspass would be met with death! And thus, Zwei charged the Creep, inspiring fear in the beast and making it attempt to run. 

It shouldn't have tried, Zwei reasoned. It would just die tired. 

Zwei bit into a chunk of the Creep's neck, tearing a portion of muscle free. He started to bit into it, feral instincts taking over, when an armored hand pried him away from the Creep. 

"No, no no!" Umbra scolded him, pulling the chunk free and tossing it over the ledge. "Spit it out!" The Titan commanded, and Zwei reluctantly complied. She gently placed the dog back down, picking up her large rocket launcher and firing a string of missiles at the large Grimm.

_Hey there mister blue_   
_We're so pleased to be with you_   
_Look around see what you do_   
_Everybody smiles at you_

Zwei chose to use the tentacled Grimm as a moving obstacle course, dashing between the appendages and screaming Huntsmen as they fled from the mouths, teeth and tentacles. Noir in particular was very jumpy around the tentacles. 

And then the Grimm breathed _fire,_ which really wasn't that fair for everyone present as there became less ground to flee to. 

Zwei tripped over a small ledge, banging his head against the speakers as the song began to wrap up. This made him excited, since if he hit the Big Red Button enough, the music would come back-

Velvet flew through the speakers and haphazard mixing station, the music cutting out. The Rabbit Faunus struggled to get up, spitting blood as her Aura shattered. 

And Zwei saw  _red_.

* * *

 "Red!" Coco cried out, slamming away a tentacle. "Your dog's killing my partner!"

Ruby looked over at Zwei, teeth latched onto Velvet's ear as she ran around in circles screaming bloody murder. "Bad Zwei! Let go!"

The dog froze, looking at his master with the most adorable puppy eyes. 

Ruby almost broke, but Velvet using the most adorably bunny eyes just about convinced her to side with the Faunus in this case. "I'm not joking Zwei! Let go!"

Zwei whined, but jumped off Velvet's head, waddling off somewhere else. Ruby sighed, loading another magazine into Crescent Rose as Noir and Yatsuhashi slammed down beside her. "How're we doing?" 

"Poorly," the Hunter groaned as he got back up. "This thing's hide is insanely thick." 

"What if we try gutting it from the inside?" Yatsu leaned heavily on his sword, Aura flickering. 

"That trick only works in the movies! Everyone knows that skin's just as hard on the inside as it is on the outside!" Coco barked. "Only a complete and utter idiot would try something like that-"

"GET SOME!" Yang cried as she flew into the mouth of the creature, trailing fire. 

Everyone blinked. 

"We're all gonna die," Velvet groaned as she tried to straighten her ears. Zwei didn't care about all that though. He found a new toy to chew on!

"Wait," Velvet said suddenly, feeling at her hip. "Where's my camera?" 

Everyone turned. 

"ZWEI!"

* * *

**If you've seen Guardians of the Galaxy 2, this scene should be familiar to you. And by familiar, I mean a complete and utter ripoff and I'm kinda not sorry. This is another crossover with Hunters, though they're background characters. Honestly, this could have easily been a non Hunters story, but I wanted to justify the music in-universe because I'm pathetic like that.**

**Zwei's fun. He's a dog so I ain't got a lot to say here. I kinda always wanted to do Zwei's story like this, so this didn't really change. I did consider actually finishing the fight scene, but since this is meant to be Zwei's chapter, I left it in the air.**

**Besides, you know who won.**

**Anyway, the 14th sees a STRQ chapter, and we're going back to an earlier story to pick up where we left off. And then I'll be gone for a few days, since the 15th and 16th are prompts that don't translate well to the written word. I'll be back on the 17th with a pairing I like.**


	13. Chapter 13: STRQ (Raven)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Raven stays, and eventually grows to want to stay.

**This is a sequel to the 'Parents' prompt with Summer.**

* * *

"Rae?" Summer croaked. The snow was falling heavily around the two Huntresses, the only colors standing out against the white being the muted reds and blacks both Summer and Raven wore, and the dried red of Summer's blood as the pool began to spread from her stab wounds.

Raven stiffened. Her hand kept automatically brushing through her teammate's hair. "Yeah, Summer?" She wouldn't cry, she refused to cry. Under no circumstances would Raven let the last thing Summer saw be Raven choked up on tears.

"... I'm scared." The admission came silently, drifting lazily away on the wind. Raven nearly broke, placing her head against the crook of Summer's neck.

"So am I, Summer," Raven sobbed. "So am I."

Summer let out her last breath, and died as her silver eyes glazed over one last time. Raven sat there, muted horror beginning to crawl along her bones like spider-legs as the realization dawned on her. That Summer Rose, the seemingly immortal, always cheerful leader who had tolerated Raven basically hating her for two years... was now just flesh and bones, bereft of the simple soul that had pulled STRQ out of the fire countless times. The soul that could go from being an absolute slave driver in leading her team to the top, to a smiling personification of matronly nature that had cookies in the oven and a shoulder to cry on as needed. 

Raven tried not to cry, but soon found herself with her face buried in the crook of Summer's neck, wailing like a banshee.

* * *

 

It was morning when she came back to herself, to the sound of a ringtone. Summer's ringtone, to be precise. Raven fumbled for it, staring dully at the name before her brain started to work again. It was Taiyang.

By the time she realized that Tai wouldn't know yet, he had reached Summer's voicemail. 

 _"Hey Summer. Yang's off to school and Ruby's still tucked in. She didn't make a sound last night, your singing must've been great."_ He chuckled, stopping to sip his morning cup of coffee.  _"Not sure where you are, right now, or if you'll hear this soon, but I figured you'd like a status update-"_

She called him. He needed to know. It would hurt, but better now than later.

_"Oh, hey! Didn't think I'd catch you. Hey, have you been talking to Qrow? He said he was coming all of a sudden, sounded really panicked-"_

"Tai." She didn't know what to say. How do you break the news?

_"Raven? What... how- why do you have Summer's scroll?!"_

"Tai..." She stopped. More of those damned tears as she stroked Summer's face, almost peaceful in death. "Tai, I'm so sorry." 

Raven heard the sound of a cup shattering, someone dropping to their knees, and a muffled moan of despair. 

* * *

 

Raven and Taiyang sat in stony silence across from each other at the kitchen table. She had carried Summer back to the house, where Tai had been waiting with a local priest. Summer's body was at a morgue right now, being prepped for the funeral.

They hadn't spoken since the van had pulled away outside. Ruby was still sleeping upstairs, blissfully unaware that mommy wasn't coming home. Yang would be back soon from school, and Qrow...

The door burst open, and Qrow dashed in. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. "Tai-" he stopped, taking in Raven at the table and their expressions. 

"Qrow-" she started.

"No, don't say it," Qrow muttered. "Don't you goddamn say it, please God. Damnit, no!" His fist hit the kitchen door, leaving an imprint. "I called you so you could  _save her you neglectful bitch_!" 

He slammed into her, the two hitting the ground as Qrow started to punch any part of her he could reach. Tai tried to stop him, but only got an elbow in the throat for his efforts before her nose went  _crunch_.

Raven let him, letting him wash over her like a tide over an eroded rock. 

"You should have saved her!" He roared in her face, tears falling from his cheeks to hers. "Where's your one rule now?!  _Where is it!"_

Qrow faltered, and Tai pulled him off finally, pinning his arms and dragging him into the living room. Raven stayed on the ground, wincing as she felt her nose and saw blood on her fingers. She could hear Qrow from the living room, his howls and sobs echoing across the house. Such raw sorrow, she mused. She couldn't partake. Hers would flood oceans if she embraced it. Drown her if she let it out. 

Tai left him in there, lying on the couch. He looked at Raven as she got up. "Your nose-" 

"I'll be fine," she muttered, tearing some paper off a roll and dabbing at the blood. "Summer... asked me to do something." 

Tai stilled. 

"She... she wants me to be here for Yang. Says the kid needs a mother. I can't say I agree, but..." she trailed off. "I don't know. Seems like a bad idea." 

"I can... I can get the guest room ready for you. I'll have to leave in a few minutes though, school's nearly out." 

"Thanks." Raven looked away. 

"Rae." She looked back up at him. "I'm sorry for how things ended." 

"Don't be. I'm the one who walked away. But Tai? If I do stay, not a word of the truth to Yang. Let her live thinking her mother wasn't the sort to leave her before her first birthday." 

Tai hesitated, They stood there, old memories coming unbidden before they were- almost mercifully- interrupted by Ruby. 

"Damnit," Tai muttered, before Raven help up a hand. 

"I'll do it. Go get Yang." 

Tai hesitated. "Are you sure?" 

"You can't be in two places at once Tai. Go." 

She went upstairs with no further preamble, leaving Tai to grab his coat. 

* * *

 

Ruby's room looked like she expected it to- rose motif throughout, a lot of bright colors, teddies and other toys underfoot. She'd stopped by Yang's room on the way up, seeing a bookshelf and a punching bag set up in the corner.

Ruby was still crying. It at this point that Raven realized she had no idea what to do with kids. But she'd heard the door close after Tai, and Qrow was already likely halfway through a whiskey bottle, so it was onto her. 

She picked the wailing little Rose up, patting her back slowly as she rested the kid against her shoulder. "Please don't spit on my shirt," she muttered. 

Ruby quieted down, drawing back so she could look at Raven with those... silver eyes. Eyes far too smart for someone barely old enough to walk and talk.

"Whur's Mommy? Who're you?" 

"I'm, a friend of your mommy and daddy. I'm uncle Qrow's sister." 

"Oh!" Ruby seemed to think this was all she needed to trust Raven, as she plopped her head beside Raven's neck and went right back to sleep. Raven stood ramrod still, brain running a mile a minute to think of what she did next. 

"Now'd be a great time to put her back in the bed, Rae." 

Qrow still sounded sober- a modern miracle, or else Summer had finally moved the alcohol. He was leaning against the doorframe, eyes red-rimmed from tears, not whiskey. 

Raven did so, drawing the little flower-ordained blanket up to Ruby's shoulders. The Branwen twins walked outside, breath misting in the snow. 

"I'm sorry Qrow." Raven said to break the silence. "I got to Patch as fast as I could." 

Shoulders set, Qrow sighed. "I know. Wasn't your fault."

"My nose disagrees with you." 

"Heh, sorry."

"Sorry? You hit like a gust of wind. I taught you to throw a better right hook than that." 

It felt good to laugh, even if it was just a chuckle. Qrow sighed again. "How long will you stay?" 

"Summer asked me to look after Yang. More, made me promise to."

"Will you?" 

"If Tai will have me, I guess."

"Do you  _want_ to, though?" 

Raven hesitated. "No." God, she didn't want to. "But I've not made a habit of lying to dying people and refusing to follow their last requests."

"So you haven't completely become a sociopath for the tribe then. How will they take it?" 

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Summer asked me to tell you something."

That got his attention. "Yeah?" 

"It wasn't your fault. She wanted me to stress that to you. It was no one's fault but the bastards who killed her and left her to freeze in the woods. Not my fault, not hers or Tais, not your Semblance's fault. You hear that?" 

"Hearing and believing are two different things," Qrow replied bitterly. "And you say all the shit you want, Rae. I'm gonna blame myself for not being there to save my goddamn wife." 

Raven nodded mutely. "Are we OK, brother?" 

"Yeah. Yeah, we're fine now." He wiped his eyes and pulled her in for a hug, ignoring her indignant growl. "Thank you Raven. You were there for her. Guess she was fortunate to have someone there at the end." 

Raven nodded again. Both pulled away as a car pulled up, Yang nearly falling out as she saw Qrow. 

"Uncle Qrow!" She nearly bowled him over with her hug, but he stood standing, if leaning like a tree in the wind. 

"Hey there little dragon," he drawled as Tai walked over. "How was school?"

"Bleugh, it was school. Why would people go there?" Yang saw Raven, studying her biological mother with striking violet eyes. "Who're you?" 

Tai looked expectantly at her. Raven swallowed. "I'm... your Aunt Raven. Qrow's sister." 

Yang turned accusingly on Qrow. "You never said you had a sister, Uncle Qrow!" 

"Must've slipped my mind, sorry kid. You wanna get in now before we catch a cold?" 

The four went inside, Tai stopping Raven as Qrow led Yang into the kitchen for some cocoa. "'Aunt' Raven?" 

"I'll tell her when she's ready. If you tell her without my consent, I walk." 

He threw up his hands. "Fine, your call. Just wanted to make sure."

"Uncle Qrow! Is that blood on the floor!"

Tai and Raven froze.

"Oh, uh... I may have punched your Aunt Raven in the face." 

"But you said punching people was bad!"

"Well, she, uh, wanted you to get a haircut." 

"Well why didn't ya punch her  _harder_ then?" 

Qrow laughed with Yang, and Tai let out a little chuckle at that, slowing down at Raven's frown. 

"When do we tell her about Summer?" Raven asked quietly. 

"Tomorrow?" 

She nodded. "Fine. I'll go clean up the guest room." 

"Yeah, upstairs, last on the right." 

Raven headed back upstairs, checking in on Ruby and nodding to herself as she saw the kid still sleeping soundly. 

* * *

The next day, when Yang got back, Tai asked her to sit down in the living room with Qrow and Raven. 

"Yang..." Tai started, "It's about your mother." 

"Is she coming back soon?" Yang's excited face fell as she took in the three faces opposite her that fell at her tone. "Wait... you can't... no, she couldn't! Please don't say it!"

The remnants of STRQ all looked at each other. "I'm sorry Firecracker," Qrow muttered bitterly.  

Yang needed to be held by everyone as she spent the rest of the night crying. Raven froze up as Yang threw herself into her arms, tears running down her shirt again, but she wrapped her arms around the blonde and pulled her close. But she'd cried herself out, falling asleep for the time in Raven's grasp. 

Raven carried her up to her room, tucking her in awkwardly. Something stirred in her chest as she watched Yang for a few minutes. 

"I'll look after you kid," she whispered. "Come hell or high water, I'll look after you." 

* * *

It was another week before Summer's funeral. People from across all of the Kingdoms poured into Patch for the last send-off, including Ozpin himself. STRQ had been busy and made a lot of friends over the years, and now those friends were coming together to mourn and remember one of the best and brightest to grace Remnant.

Raven wasn't there. Qrow was asked, and he just shrugged it off, changing the topic as soon as he could. 

But Yang saw the raven perched on the tree near where the gravestone was laid. It let her come near, and she let it perch on her shoulder as she came up to the stone.

"My mommy was the bestest in the world," she told the bird. "No one's had a mommy like her." 

The bird almost seemed to look away before fluttering away, leaving Yang.

Raven stormed through the woods, breathing deeply to try and clear her mind. This was too much, she should just run. Tai didn't want her, Qrow could barely stand the sight of her-

"So here you've been." 

The voice was low and smooth, coming from a man in red with a white Grimm mask. He sat perched on a treebranch, passively observing Raven.

"Noire," she growled in response.

He tilted his head. "Such a shame, what happened to her. You don't see many like her these days."

He jumped down, pulling off his mask and sweeping back his rusty red hair. "You'd be one of those though. And someone like you could take the tribes to unprecedented heights." 

Raven's eyes narrowed. "You'd second my claim?" 

"Among other things, yes. Think about it Raven. Why waste your life here in Patch, acting as a glorified rebound girl for some fool you wisely abandoned five years ago? You know we'll come after you if you stay, one doesn't just leave." 

"Qrow managed."

"Because he was a hindrance, and because the leaders then wasted a golden opportunity by turning someone with a probability manipulation Semblance into a simpering child with the self-worth of a lemming. The strong survive, the weak fall. You said it yourself, or has your little vacation made you soft? Maybe the tribes should visit Patch, get a sense of its hospitality." Noire's lips curled in a mocking smile, and Raven resisted the urge to growl.

"I made a promise to the woman you're desecrating by being here. That I would look after her children like they were my own. I would  _hope_ the clan leaders have enough decency to see that. I have not grown  _soft_ , I am merely honoring my word. Now, if we're done..." 

Noire frowned, put his mask back on. "Yes Raven, we're done for now. My sympathies to you and your new clan." 

He took off after that, leaving Raven with nothing but her thoughts. 

And she began to fester a plan.

* * *

 Yang was nine when Raven barged into home one day, covered in blood and barely conscious with an arrow sticking out of her back, but wearing a satisfied smirk on her face as Qrow laid her out on the kitchen table. "Tai, get the kids out!" He barked.

Tai grabbed the two children, taking them outside and, with his best Dad Voice, telling them firmly not to come in until they said so. Ruby and Yang tried pressing their faces to the living room window to look in through there, only for Qrow to pull the curtains shut. 

"I hope Mommy's OK," Ruby mumbled, tugging at her cape. 

Yang frowned. "Ruby, for the last time, she's not your mom-"

They were cut off by a a shrill howl of pain from the kitchen, followed by a stream of expletives. "You call that cauterizing, Tai? I'd have done it better if you blinded me and put my arms behind my back, you son of a bitch!"

Yang covered Ruby's ears, the two girls waiting impatiently outside. They sat through what sounded like gasps and whimpers of pain that eventually quietened down, until Qrow came outside about ten minutes, wiping his hands with a rag. 

"Is she gonna be OK uncle Qrow?" Yang asked quietly. She wasn't sure she could handle losing Raven too. Ruby at least was too young to realize what had happened to Summer, probably assumed that Raven and Summer were the same person. But Yang was burdened with the gift of remembering Summer, her easy smiles and willingness to play and sing. Raven wasn't like that. She humored them, but every time she was convinced to play when she was around, it always felt... forced. Artificial, like someone going through the motions rather than genuinely caring.

"She'll be fine, Firecracker. She's just a big dumb idiot who got into a fight bigger than she was ready for."

"I'm still conscious Qrow, I can hear you" Raven said weakly from the table, where Tai was wrapping a bandage around her midsection. 

"And that's only because you're the walking embodiment of good fortune," Qrow muttered. 

"What happened, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.

"She did something for you guys and and your daddy. Something  _really_ dumb that she felt she needed to do. She's lucky that... well, doesn't matter. Wanna head into town for some ice-cream and cookies?" 

Ruby cheered, dashing for Qrow's car. Qrow watched her go, a sad little smile on his face. Yang in turn watched Qrow, crossing her arms, before she rapidly paled.

"Ew," she nearly retched. Qrow turned, joining his niece as Raven had grabbed Tai by his shirt, pulling him in for a searing kiss. Tai having no problem with all the blood, it seemed.

"Tai, not again you  _son of a-_ " Qrow caught himself. "Let's go get that ice-cream," he said bitterly to Yang. 

"Uncle Qrow?" Yang asked, voice shaking like she had witnessed an unbearable horror. 

"Yeah?" Qrow's voice was quiet.

"I'm still too young to drink, right?" 

"Unfortunately, yes." 

"Then I'll need the biggest brain freeze ever to get that image out of my head." 

"Yeah," Qrow groaned as he thought he began to hear thumping from within the house. "I'm with ya there." 

* * *

Later that night, Yang was creeping downstairs for a glass of water, only to freeze in place as she heard Qrow.

"What were you thinking? A direct challenge to all of the tribe leaders?" 

"I was thinking, 'I can get them in one place and cripple the tribes,' Qrow. And it worked, didn't it?" 

"Yeah, great job Raven," Qrow's voice dripped in sarcasm. "You only managed to create a civil war by bombing all of the tribe leaders. Anima's forests are practically anarchist zones right now. And they still caught you, you're lucky that arrow only clipped an artery."

"But everyone in a position of power who knows about me- who knows about _this_ \- is dead now." Her voice grew more frantic. "We're free Qrow. No more looking over our shoulders in case the tribe comes calling, no more obligations to them." 

"I've got different reasons to look over my shoulder, and you know that." 

"You mean what got Summer killed? Blindly following Ozpin's orders?" 

The temperature practically dropped a few degrees. "Don't. Go. There."

"Did you ever question the truth of what you were doing? How many broken bodies he leaves in his wake? How many lies he spins?"

"And you're one to talk about lies?"

"Don't get me _started_ you damn hypocrite! When will you tell Ruby the truth, your deathbed?" 

"Better her father be someone who can be there for her and is actually reliable over a walking bad luck charm who couldn't even _be there_ for his wife when she died!"

Yang gasped involuntarily, and she could hear the twins stiffening. 

Raven limped out, looking at Yang. "How much did you hear?" She asked quietly. 

"Uncle Qrow...?" She could hear muttered curses from the living room before Qrow came out, looking guilty. 

"You had to tell them eventually," Raven murmured. "Wanna come down, kid?" 

Yang followed the twins into the living room, hiding a yawn. Qrow came out of the kitchen with a glass of water, passed it to her.

"Yang, please don't tell Ruby what you just heard." 

Yang frowned. "Why? She deserves to know the truth." 

"Because..." Qrow sighed, pushing his hair back. In that moment, he looked _old_ , like the years had crept up on him without his knowledge. "Because I've made a lot of enemies, and those bad people are still out there. If word got out that I had a daughter, they'd come after her to get to me. And I refuse to put any of you at risk because of my choices. I'll bear that cross myself, but I'll be damned if I let someone else get hurt for me." His fists tightened. 

"We can keep it to ourselves," Yang mumbled. 

"I'm sorry, but I can't risk it. The less people that know a secret Yang, the less chance it has coming out. Just... please, don't tell Ruby."

Yang hesitated. "I don't like this," she whispered. "Keeping lies from my sister. How bad are these people?" 

"They're the ones that killed Summer," Raven replied bluntly. 

She gasped, and Raven pressed on. "You've heard the stories we tell about Summer, how amazing she was. And they got her, Yang. Please trust your uncle. He's doing what he thinks is right." 

Yang nodded slowly, grabbing the glass and going to bed after kissing both her aunt and uncle tonight. She caught some snippets of murmured conversation as she went up the stairs.

"Thank you." 

"You owe me, Qrow. You tell Ruby before she's fifteen, or I will." 

A weary sigh. "Fine. But practice what you preach." 

Yang would later dismiss this night as a particularly bad dream, but part of her felt it was real- namely, she had a different glass on her nightstand when she woke up that morning.

* * *

Yang was eleven when Raven pulled Tai aside during the birthday party. "I wanna tell her the truth," she muttered into his ear.

Tai jumped. "Now?" 

"Or tomorrow. But she's old enough, and she's putting the pieces together. Last month she asked why she doesn't have Summer's eyes." 

The two looked over at Yang, playing with Ruby and her biggest birthday present in a puppy named Zwei. 

"If you're sure," Tai said slowly. "But you saw how she got when you wanted to cut her hair. You might not wanna do it in any part of the house with fragile goods."

"I'll take her out to the woods on the bike. Tell her there."

"Got it." 

Tai kissed Raven on the cheek, slipping away before she could punch his shoulder while blushing slightly. She waited for Yang to finish with Zwei before coming over. "How's the birthday girl?" 

"Great!" Yang beamed. 

"Then how does she feel about a ride on the back as another present?" 

Yang gaped. "Really?" Since Raven had bought a motorcycle with funds "appropriated from old friends who won't miss it," she'd wanted to take a ride on it. Tai's face when she said this still made her giggle. 

"Really," Raven smirked. "Let's leave Ruby with Zwei for now, and burn some rubber." Her face fell. "Think she'd wanna see you on your birthday anyway." 

The mood fell a fraction, but Tai's Semblance may as well have been knowing when liven up a party, as out he came with the materials for the BBQ.

"Guess the ride can wait a little longer," Raven muttered. Yang took off, leaving Raven with Ruby. 

"So," Raven drawled. "You know how I'm awful at picking birthday presents?" 

"I still have that butterfly knife stuck in my ceiling," Ruby replied. 

"Exactly. Wanna give me some hints?"

Ruby pondered it. "Oh! I know! I want you to get Qrow to teach me to be a scythe master!"

Raven blinked. "Actually... he'd probably do it if you just asked him. Go ahead." 

Ruby let out a tiny squeak of joy as she... flew off? 

Oh, right, Semblance. She had to get used to that now. Because Ruby wasn't fast enough, the Brother of Darkness evidently made her a force of destruction. 

Watching as Ruby slammed into Qrow's back, knocking him off the bench he was sitting at, Raven chuckled. 

Yang bounded over. "Dad said I can't eat until after the bike ride, since I'll just throw up over your jacket!"

Raven nodded sagely. "He's smarter than I give him credit for." 

Tai, from the other side of the backyard, flipped Raven off without looking or breaking stride as he prepped the grill. 

"Alright then Firecracker, let's roll." 

* * *

 The Branwen/Xiao-Long/Rose family made monthly pilgrimages to Summer's grave. They'd already gone this month, but Raven still rolled up by the solitary gravestone with Yang clutched to her back. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky with beautiful orange streaks. 

Yang got off first, standing in front of the gravestone as Raven set the kickstand and followed her. She let Yang have her moment alone with Summer before coming up beside her. 

"I need to tell you something," Raven said bluntly. "You remember that conversation I had with Qrow, the night after I came in all bloodied?" 

Yang frowned. "I thought it was just a dream..." she whispered.

"Yeah, well it wasn't. Thing is, I'm a big hypocrite for complaining about him keeping secrets, because I've a few skeletons in my closet as well."

Yang stayed silent, letting Raven speak. 

"I wasn't part of your early life, Yang. Not like Qrow. I was a bandit, a killer and thief as Qrow would say. I killed people. And I liked it. So much so that when I had a chance at a happy life in my face and a newborn child..." she swallowed. "I threw it away and abandoned the child so I could keep doing what I was doing, no regard for the future.

"Wait..." 

"I only came back to Patch because Qrow called me, saying Summer was in danger and I needed to help her. I was too late, but I was there with her when she breathed her last. She made me promise something to her. That I would settle down and be a mother for both Ruby and the child I had abandoned. I nearly didn't, but I had to honor her last words, so I moved back in."

"You mean..." 

"... I'm your mother, Yang." 

Yang took a step back. Breathed. She seemed to nod to herself.

And then she punched Raven in the face, eyes red like Raven's blade and hair burning like the sun. Raven was starting to regret teaching Ruby and Yang how to throw a punch. And unlocking their Auras. And helping them realize their Semblances. Raven regretted a lot.

Raven could almost hear Summer's ghost laughing as Yang got her onto the ground and began pummeling her face, her nose _crunching_. 

* * *

Tai frowned as Raven's bike pulled up outside the house. She normally had impeccable control over the machine, guiding it like a cruise missile. But here it was... sloppy. Unrefined. Like she was driving out of one eye. 

Raven took off her helmet, nose freshly fixed back in place, but blood still smeared across the bottom half of her mouth and her left eye swollen. Qrow nearly fell out of his chair again, snickering at his sister as she stormed by. Yang sauntered over, putting her fist in the ice-pack and smiling to herself. 

Ruby sauntered over, happy as a bee with honey at getting Qrow to agree to teach her to use a scythe. "Where were you?" 

"We went to Mom's grave," Yang replied. "Raven told me she's my real mother!"

As Qrow spat his drink out, Ruby's eyes boggled. "She's  _what_?"

"I know, right? And then- Ruby, where are you going?!"

Everyone watched in muted horror as Ruby started full on sprinting after Raven, tackling her and beginning to punch her in the face. "You lied to us for _six years_!" She screamed. 

"Why," Raven groaned softly as her nose  _crunched_ again. "I said I was sorry!"

"SIX. YEARS!"

"You're taking this awfully well," Qrow said to Yang, both leaning near the ice box.

Yang shrugged. "You should've seen me when she told me. I've worked all my anger out for now."

"Huh," Qrow replied. "That's awfully mature of you." 

Summer's ghost was definitely laughing at her, Raven realized. Either that, or her ears were ringing and she was getting a concussion. And honestly, with Tai trying to pull Ruby off while Yang and Qrow shot the shit as Ruby tried to kill her, this was... good. Well, not the 'getting beat up by a kid' thing, that wasn't fun, but the rest was nice.

She'd miss Summer every day for the rest of her life. She'd likely never love anyone like she had with Summer (But Qrow had gotten there first, and she gave her brother a chance at happiness, much as it hurt her heart), but she could at least try and move on. That was all STRQ could do now. They could dwell on the past and let it consume them, or they could keep moving forward. It's what Summer would have wanted.

* * *

Raven never quite knew fear until a Bullhead arrived in Patch with Yang sans an arm. Qrow carried Ruby, a frenzied look in his eyes as he left while Yang's partner carried her out. Tai and Raven were there in a literal heartbeat (Teleportation Semblances were so underrated), Tai taking Yang as Raven fixed her partner- Blake, her name was- with a look.

"What happened?" She murmured, voice surprisingly calm despite her heart rate spiking. She got the explanation- psycho ex boyfriends, Yang charging in, getting her arm cut off...

 _Focus._ She could get names and start hunting this bastard later. For now, she had a more pressing concern. 

"She was trying to save you when she got hurt?" 

Blake nodded her head morosely. "I know, it's all my fault, I should go before she wakes up-"

"Shut up." 

Blake blinked at her. 

"The  _last_ thing she needs is you having run off like a damn coward. Take it from someone who did run off when the people they love needed them, it just fucks you up."

The people began to part like the sea around Blake and Raven as she continued. 

"And I've seen the way my daughter looks at you when she talks about you. Your self-worth may be shit, but let me assure you of something." 

She leaned in close, crimson orbs gleaming. "If you even think of getting back on that ship, I  _will_ hunt you down and drag you back here by your cat ears. The last thing my daughter needs is to wake up to find you ran away because of your brooding bullshit."

Blake swallowed. "Yes ma'am." 

"Get outta here." 

Blake limped off after Yang, leaving Raven to breathe. She jogged after Tai, catching up in a few seconds.

"The Faunus shouldn't be running soon," she murmured.

Tai fixed her with a look. "What did you do?" 

"Nothing I'll regret in the morning." 

"Hmm." He was distracted. They both were- holding your maimed daughter in your arms didn't do great things for the mental health. But they powered through, RWBY and TRQ getting back home in record time. The couch and guest rooms were divided as needed, Raven taking first watch with Yang and Qrow with Ruby. Neither of the Branwens would sleep for the night anyway. 

They met in the hallway, Raven running a hand along Qrow's dirty face. 

"You look awful," she muttered. "Wish I'd been there." 

"It was a goddamn nightmare. The whole thing..." Qrow shuddered. "We're lucky we got out. Amber, Ozpin..." 

"Shit," Raven whispered. "So what's the plan?" 

"Recuperate, re-arm and retaliate. The STRQ usual." 

Raven nodded, tapping his arm. "Get some rest, Qrow. You need it." 

Raven, as usual, refused to listen to her own advice and stayed up all night for Yang. 

She snapped awake to Yang howling in pain, arm scrambling along the stump. Raven darted over, holding Yang down. "I'm here Yang! Yang!" 

Her lilac eyes were wide, unseeing, but latched onto Raven. "Mommy?" She whispered. 

Raven froze. After she'd told Yang the truth, they had always been "Raven" and "Yang" to each other. Affectionate terms were just... left aside. 

"Mommy, it hurts! Make it stop, please! MOMMY!"

She started sobbing from the pain, the outburst finally snapping something inside Raven. Once, years ago, she had thought as Qrow pummeled her into the kitchen floor that her sorrow could flood an ocean. That it would drown her if she let it out.

Right now, the last thing Raven wanted to do was breathe. Wrapping her daughter in a gentle hug, both women shook as they cried together. "I'm here," she whispered into Yang's hair, rocking her gently. "Mommy's here." 

Tai and Blake found them like that the next morning, wrapped around each other and still sobbing. 

* * *

Raven stood in front of Summer's grave, hands in her pockets. 

"I really fucking hate you right now," she admitted. "You had to make me care for her. Had to make me go back and hook back up with Tai again. Had to make me  _soft._ "

She hissed out the last word like a curse. "And now I care, so I want to find the bastard that hurt her. The old me would have probably used up her one save and I'd have left her there. Now I save people when I can like a good luck charm. This is all your fault, you know?"

The grave didn't respond.

Raven sighed. "Figured as much. Then again, you always were bad for me. Ever since I saw you in the Emerald Forest, I knew you'd be trouble. And you were. You went and stole my heart."

She released a pent up breath. "Wish I'd said that twenty years ago," she muttered. "Would've saved me so much heartache. But you had an eye for Qrow, so I stood by. Chickened out and ran when I had a kid, because I knew your heart was big enough to take in my castoffs."

"So thanks," she finished. "Thanks for making me a big fuckin' softy, making me fall in love, and making me care. I used to spend my nights beating up Grimm and raiding villages. Now I cry with my daughter in bed."

"And I still miss you every day," she whispered softly. "Why'd you have to go and die, Summer? Shit was easy with you. Now everyone's falling apart and people are relying on me."

And there it was- the cocky Branwen smirk. "Guess I'd better not let 'em down, eh? I'd best be off. Love you."

She walked away, her steps feeling lighter than they had been on the way out here.   

* * *

Yang's recovery took nearly an entire year. Parts of Raven, parts that she trusted and had saved her life countless times, wanted to dismiss her as weak for being broken from it. But Raven had never lost a limb. She'd lost family, lost loves and held them as they breathed their last, but never a part of herself that she judged as essential. 

So she gave Yang time, but kept her on her feet. Kept her training to prevent muscle atrophy. Blake stayed around for the first month, and they had some conversations during that time. Were they a thing? Fuck if Raven knew, teenage love was confusing enough to be a part of, let alone watch. Regardless, Blake disappeared soon after Ruby went off with some of the other Beacon students. Qrow vanished, but everyone immediately guessed what he was doing.

Maybe he'd finally tell her the truth on the road. It was the least the poor Silver Eyed Warrior deserved, given how half the world was going to be hunting for her now.

The Schnee girl was forced to go home, but managed to use some SDC contacts to get Yang a prosthetic arm. It took a while for Yang to try it, but soon they were working it into training, testing its durability. Raven knew someone in Haven that could easily rework Yang's weapon into the arm.

Even still, it was a year before Raven found Yang throwing on a brown longcoat while doing checks on her bike. 

"You're going." It wasn't a question. 

"You gonna try and stop me, Raven?" 

She snorted. "Hell no, I'm glad you're back on your feet. But what's the gameplan?" 

"Ruby said she's in Mistral. So I'm going to Haven. If I find any White Fang..." Yang shrugged, eyes flashing red for a fraction of a second, "well, they'll regret it." 

Raven walked over to her own chopper. "In case you didn't notice Yang, I'm a mite overprotective." 

"My laundry list of scared off boyfriends and girlfriends is proof enough of that." 

"Then you know I'm going to follow you. A little good luck on the road isn't the worst thing to have."

"Is that all?"

"And if I want to castrate the bastard who cut your arm off, so what?"

Yang straddled her bike, firing it up. "Well, there's another room for two on the road, mom."

Both froze at that. "You've never called me that before," Raven muttered. "Guess there's nothing like an international manhunt to suffice as a mother/daughter bonding activity."

Raven sighed. "Well, we're burning daylight. Shall we?"

Yang grinned. "Try and keep up."  

* * *

**Raven Branwen. For someone with two appearances to her name, she sure has inspired a lot of theories about her, hasn't she?**

**So this story was kinda set in stone after I did the Summer prompt- I wanted to go back to that setting and explore STRQ after Summer's death. Otherwise, I kinda didn't have plans for what to cover; Qrow's basically been a recurring character in the prompt stories, Summer got the Parents chapter, and Tai just doesn't interest me enough to write him as a main character. So Raven was always gonna be the focus at the end of the day. And... well, this wasn't as draining as the Summer chapter. It's really fucking long, though, holy shit. This... got out of control in a good way. I think the very last scene felt a bit rushed, but I might go back and extend that to reflect more of Yang's volume 4 arc.**

**See you all on June 17th for a pairing I like (Since the 15th and 16th prompts don't translate well to the written word and I have other stories to write). What pairing? Fuck if I know, it could be Hellbirds for all I know.  Maybe I'll bullshit you all and write a ten thousand word Enabler fanfic.**

**... Nah, I'm not that cruel. Might just be White Rose.**


	14. Chapter 17: A Pairing I Like (Gauntlets and Greaves)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mercury isn't a terrorist but he's still kind of an asshole, and Yang is the sort to legally change her name to Yang "Fuck Da Police" Xiao-Long the day before Ruby graduates from police academy.

**This is a modern AU**

* * *

Cinder sighed, putting the phone down. "Merc got arrested again." She informed the office.

Neo put on a mock surprised face, complete with hands on cheeks, while Emerald's face slammed into her keyboard. "He went out for coffee.  _Coffee_. How do you get arrested on a coffee run?" Roman began to raise a hand sardonically. "No, wait, I remember, it's Mercury  _fucking_ Black, this guy could get arrested buying milk."

"Regardless, Emerald, you know his account number, so you can cover bail. He's getting released tomorrow."

Emerald grumbled, but ultimately nodded, slamming her finger to her nose. "Not it if he uses his one phone call to call us." 

Roman, Cinder quickly followed, leaving Neo, leaning back in her chair, to smirk. 

Roman chuckled. "Oh, this is gonna be good."

"No," Cinder noted. "She can't do it because she has her graduation today." She sighed. "I'll do it."

* * *

 

Mercury shared the cell with a busty blonde in a tux, complete with gloves. The two had been pointedly not speaking for the first hour, but silence, in this case, was not golden.

He sighed, relenting. "I'm Mercury." 

"Yang," came the response. 

"So Yang," he drawled. "What're you in for?" 

"I ran a red light." She hesitated. "Or twenty. You?" 

Merc's fingers did air-quotes. "'Hate speech.' Because that's what they call it when you yell at someone for taking half an hour to decide on their order, before butting through the queue and saying that they fucked up the order." 

Goldilocks winced. "I've been a barista, I know that pain. But you got arrested for just yelling at someone?"

"I, heh, funny story. See, they tried to punch me, and dear  _God_ , did they fail. They failed at punching so hard they flew right past me and out a window."

"Ouch." 

"So then I was charged with inciting violence. But it's good to see that they're taking it as seriously as a red light runner."

"Heh," Blondie rubbed the back of her head. "Well, thing is is that the squad car chasing me? Had less success with the lights. And hit a hydrant." 

"Oh," he drawled. "So you're being done for reckless driving." 

"What can I say? My sister's graduating today, I just got in from the airport. Wanted to be there, ya know?" 

"I think she'd have appreciated you being there late instead of you showing up tomorrow," Merc deadpanned. "But congrats. What's she graduating from?"

Yang mumbled something into the collar of her coat.

Merc frowned. "Speak up?"

"Police academy." She growled.

Mercury's laughter ran down the entire hallway. 

* * *

Ruby stared at her phone. Rubbed her eyes. Tried to make sense of the phone call she had just gotten from Goodwitch. 

Weiss came over, seeing the look on Ruby's face. "What's the problem?" 

"Yang just..." Ruby trailed off. "She just got arrested."

Weiss blinked. "Well, I'm not sure if God just has a sick sense of humor, or if she was serious about getting her middle named legally changed to 'Fuck Da Police' and decided to engage in behavior fitting of that name."

"Should we... do something?" Ren asked. 

Ruby groaned. "I don't know. I don't want my relationship with Yang to be defined by pulling her butt out of the fire."

"Then leave her there to mull on it for the night?" Blake suggested.

"Yeah! I'm gonna feel so awful about this in about five seconds, but thank God we're having the actual party tomorrow!"

True to her word, Ruby's lip began to quiver as she committed Yang to prison for the night.

* * *

"... So then the car flips, and smash! Crash! Screams of the wounded! And then I pulled over and someone threw me off my bike. Next thing I know, I'm in a jail cell." 

"Huh," Merc mumbled as Yang continued her story, the sun starting to set outside. "That is a... lot more dramatic than my story." 

"Oh, that was a different time! That was when I went on a motocross rally. I hit a jump too fast and landed on a freeway."

Mercury blinked. "Huh," he replied again. "You certainly live an entertaining life." 

"But it's less funny than the perpetually suffering IT worker who has to deal with people that don't know what a power button does." 

"But all these stories do share the same ending." Merc threw his hands wide. "You, or me, in this case both, in this romantic getaway."

"Yeah," Yang chuckled at that. "Shame I'm gonna miss the graduation ceremony. I mean, my mom was gonna show up, and she basically left once they cut the umbilical cord."

"Shit, sorry." 

"Ah, we've gotten to know each other the last few years. She's..." Yang chuckled. "OK, she's kind of a bitch and I'm glad she never raised me. Ruby's mom was there instead."

"Two moms?"

"One dad, who I do love."

"Got any pictures?"

Yang pulled out her phone, showing a few pictures to Mercury. One of them was of a woman with long dark hair and scarlet red eyes. Another was of said woman posing with someone of a similar age in a white cloak. The way they were dressed up made him think of an 80s power ballad album cover. 

"Your dad's a lucky bastard," he muttered, smirking as he dodged the punch aimed at his shoulder.

* * *

 

Tai frowned as he checked the crowd, looking for a familiar head of blonde hair. He toyed with the mic on his collar as Qrow slouched over. 

"You ready?" 

"I guess, but I was expecting Yang. Was she held up in traffic?" 

Qrow chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, Ruby got a call. From Glynda."

"No..." Tai groaned. 

"She'll be out tomorrow. On the bright side, my bike's fine!"

"WHAT?!" The entire crowd clutched at their ears as Tai's microphone chose that moment to activate. Ruby's face fell onto the table as Tai, Qrow's throat in his hands, stumbled onto the stage yelling about his bike.

* * *

 

"What about you Merc," Yang asked the darkened jail cell, "did your father love you?" 

"Ah, sometimes, when I dressed up like a bottle. How about yours?"

"Shit. He'd never do something like that to me. I mean, he hit the bottle pretty hard after my first mom left, but he got better, been on the wagon nine years now. So your dad never loved you?"

"Well, he used to beat me in Morse code, so it's possible, but he never actually said the words before he croaked." Yang hesitated, seeing Merc duck his gaze as he tried to say the words wryfully.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Eh, I'll live. Bastard ain't around anymore. Made sure of that."

"Wait," Yang paled. "Did you...?" 

"Not personally. You really wanna know?" 

"If I'll be spending the night in jail with a potential murderer? Yeah, I kinda need to know." 

"Was never charged, so don't worry. But this was... about nine years ago. I'd moved out but came back to see my ma for Christmas. Dad gets plastered, but I take most of the booze out back and dump it down the drain. He gets pissed, and I tell him I'll cover the costs for his beer if he drives down there."

"In the middle of Winter," Yang noted. 

"Heavy snowstorms, icy roads..." Mercury shrugged. "They found him the next morning."

"Shit." 

"Don't be sorry, bastard had it coming. He took a lot more than my sweet, naive childhood innocence." Mercury rolled up one of his pant legs, Yang stifling a gasp as smooth plastic gleamed in the moonlight. 

"Why are you telling me all this?" Yang asked.

"We're never gonna see each other after that door opens, are we? I'm just wiling away the hours. Unless you've got a horror story of your own to tell..."

Yang hesitated, before pulling her glove off. Mercury's witty retort died on his throat as he took in the gold and black hand waiting underneath.

"Yeah, I've got some scars."

* * *

"Everyone, I have an announcement!" Jaune said into the microphone. "Since I first started attending the illustrious academy we are graduating from today, I have learned so much about myself, and about my friends! And I think they've learned a lot about me!"

Pyrrha, six glasses of wine deep at this point, kept throwing them back like whiskey. 

"Does that include not being able to take a hint?" Ruby muttered out the side of her breath. 

Weiss shuddered. "Remember when Pyrrha broke into his room on Halloween and posed naked on his bed? And he thought she was waiting for you?" 

"That was a fun six months," Ruby recalled with a smile.

"But one thing I always struggled with was love. For all my great friends and family, love has evaded me during my time here, until these last few months. I met someone, someone I've grown to respect and adore deeply." 

Jaune stepped off the stage, making his way to Ruby's table. Pyrrha started breathing heavily as murmurs broke out and phones began recording: The Arkos Betting Pool may have been about to reach its conclusion. 

"He's noticed!" Ruby squealed. She had two hundred bucks on either "Jaune finally sees that Pyrrha likes him" or "Pyrrha snaps and tries to mate with Jaune in front of everyone."

Jaune walked right by their table.

"He's not noticed!" Nora squealed. She had four hundred dollars on "Jaune fails to notice until after the graduation ceremony."

Jaune stopped in front of the table behind him, fishing out a box from his pocket.

"Neo." 

The murmurs grew more intense as Pyrrha's wine glass shattered in her hand. 

"These last few months have been some of the best of my life. I feel like I've come into my own place in the world, and with you by my side, I'll be ready to face the future head on."

"Haven't they only been dating a month?" Ren muttered.

Jaune dropped to one knee. 

"Neo, will you marry me?"

"THAT'S IT!" Pyrrha shot up like a bullet, tackling Jaune and dragging him off to a storage closet. "I HAVE BEEN WAITING  **FIVE YEARS** FOR YOU TO NOTICE! I POSED NAKED FOR YOUR ART CLASS! IF THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TO DO, SO BE IT!"

Jaune gaped like a fish as he was thrown inside, Pyrrha looking at Neo for a second. "Sorry," she muttered "But five years. Let me have this." before her face hardened and she closed the door behind her. Neo simply shrugged and went to the bar.

The room was silent for a few minutes. Then, suddenly, everyone began talking over one another to either get their money's worth or submit their cash to the betting pool. 

Weiss stared boggle eyed at everyone. "How did so many people learn about this?" She whispered. 

Everyone at the table then looked expectantly at Nora. "I regret nothing," she said. 

Ruby walked over to the bar, where Neo was toying with her drink. "Hey." 

Neo looked over her shoulder. 

"Sorry about that whole... thing." 

A shrug. 

"But, you know, love finds a way! There's plenty more fish in the sea!"

Neo started scribbling something, before a flash of inspiration came to her eyes. Getting up, she dashed over to the closet, throwing herself in as she tore her jacket off. 

Ruby blinked, looked at the note. 

_"I'm not averse to a threesome- OH WAIT."_

"I guess love really does find a way," Ruby mumbled as she downed Neo's drink.

* * *

 

"So this..." Yang trailed off. "About five years ago. Rubes had just started her academy thing, and they were having a Halloween party. She invites me, since I had shit to do. I make my way out to the party, but it was raining really heavily and I was wearing a lot of black. This truck ran a red light, and my arm had to be amputated." 

Mercury drew a breath through his teeth as Yang kept talking, eyes glazing over as she relived the memories. They'd wound up sitting together on the same bench 'to preserve body heat', so Merc wasn't very surprised as Yang laid her head on his shoulder.

"I... didn't take it well. Spent the better part of a year in and out of recovery wards, tried drinking myself to death, but that only got my stomach pumped. I was going through that thing people go through where they get sick of people walking on eggshells around them. I just wanted someone to be honest with me. And then I met Coco. It was so refreshing to meet someone who didn't see the stump and just saw... me. Did you have that?"

"For a bit," Mercury admitted. "Legs are easier to cover up than an arm, and I had a good physiotherapist."

"Coco and I broke up about a year ago- she's a fashion designer, going around the world, and I was content to stick to my roots, so we decided to break it off mutually before anyone got hurt. Think she met someone named Velvet recently. But she helped a lot. Ruby did as well, and a lot of her friends made a point of stopping by and checking in."

"You had people, at least. I kinda wandered for a few years until I settled down, met Cinder and Em. It got kinda lonely, but I needed time to think."

Yang hummed, hand ghosting along Mercury's wrist. "I get that. You'd think me being in a bike accident would slow me down, but the first thing I did after Coco had a friend get me a prosthetic? Join a motocross rally." She chuckled. "My life can be defined as a series of bad decisions and I'm kinda cool with that. Settling down's for grown ups."

"So you're one of those bohemians who lives in the moment?" 

"Yeah, pretty much. Bad decisions all day, every day." She fixed Merc with a cocky look. "Can't say I've ever had sex in a jail cell though."

Merc coughed suddenly. "Cameras not a problem?"

"Oh, they barely ever work here. 'Sides, live a little! Like you said, we'll never see each other again after tonight." 

Merc considered it, before shrugging and pulling Yang onto his lap. "What the hell," he growled, going in for a kiss.

* * *

 

Jaune (Looking mildly torn apart), Pyrrha (Looking like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders) and Neo (Looking content even with half the buttons on her shirt torn off) sat in front of Ruby, three shots deep. 

"... So we might be looking into polyamory now," Jaune finished. "Also, I owe Pyrrha a large amount of apologies." 

Ruby's phone buzzed with a text from Neo.

_"And I'm gonna be there to chronicle each. And every. One of them. ;)"_

"That's great Neo," Ruby mumbled. 

Pyrrha frowned. "I'm sorry Yang didn't show." 

"Ah, she's still in the cell. Guess I was hoping Glynda would play nice-"

Her phone buzzed again. A message from Glynda.

_Get them out of here. **Now.**_

Everyone crowded around Ruby's phone. "Them?" Ren muttered. "How are they getting out now?"

"Guess I'll find out," Ruby said. "Anyone sober enough to drive!" She called out. 

Ren raised his hand. 

"Then let's go get Yang."

* * *

 

Yang and Merc were waiting in the reception room as Ruby and Ren appeared. Yang's hair was messed up, one of her buttons had popped off, and Mercury's jacket wasn't zipping up properly.

Ruby blinked at them as she walked in while Ren handled the paperwork. "Oh, for the love of..."

"Hey Rubes! Meet my new boyfriend!"

Ruby looked at Merc, who shrugged. She sighed. "You up for a party, person I'm just meeting?" 

"Not really dressed for it," he muttered, before shrugging again. "Sure, why not?"

And thus, on the night the Arkos betting pool was formally retired, began the relationship of Mercury Black and Yang Xiao-Long, which lasted longer than anyone really expected it to. Least of all Mercury, who jokingly put a thousand dollars into the Gauntlets and Greaves betting pool that he would never propose to her, only to be mentally kicking himself to the tune of Emerald's laughter as he got down on one knee in the years to come. 

 

* * *

 

**Gauntlets and Greaves. Not a pairing I normally ship, blame my friend GlitteringEva for making it work at all IMO. I was gonna do Flown North, but as much as I do want to go back to that STRQ AU just one more time down the line to cover Qrow talking with Ruby (Alongside flashbacks to his relationship with Summer),** **I feel like I've covered STRQ well enough for now.**

**You can also blame some Discord friends for me adding that whole... what the fuck is Jaune/Pyrrha/Neo even called again... thing.**

**Mercury's story about getting Marcus killed is based on a real life story told by game develop** **er American McGee.**

**June 18th is another day that doesn't work well as a prompt (It'd be better if it was "A character dressed as someone else their voice actor has played,"), so I'll be back on the 19th with a prompt of formal wear.**

 


	15. Formal Wear (Emerald/Weiss)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Emerald suffers alone, but Weiss coaxes her out slowly and softly. 
> 
> I don't normally do this, but consider this a content warning- this chapter has frequent flashbacks to a physically and mentally abusive relationship that is played entirely straight, and the character has a lot of self-loathing over how that went down.

 

> _You said "don't you try to run right now, 'cause baby I could burn you down." You make your way into my veins, Course right through my limbs and dig your way into my brain, So in the second that you walk, walk into a room, I can't help myself from the things that you do.- PVRIS, Smoke_

Weiss handled the arrangements for the date; she booked the restaurant, took Emerald out for a dress and arrived to personally walk her to the restaurant. That was how their relationship worked; Weiss would do all the thinking and prep work for the both of them, and Emerald would show up, they'd have a nice time and she could turn her brain off for a few hours. She liked it. It was simple, despite the layers and elegance that surrounded it. It was just, at its core, two women out for a meal. No undercurrents, no expectations, and no demands. 

They'd been dating for seven months now. Every time they went out, Weiss waited patiently at the doorstep and only came in when Emerald expressly let her and was sober enough to do it (Not that the latter was a frequent occurrence- Emerald didn't drink much). She knew what Emerald had gone through- helped pull her out of it. But it didn't make Emerald feel any better every time she closed the door on Weiss's face, every time she hesitated before choosing not to invite her up.

It didn't make her feel better any time she was every time the nightmares came. Sometimes it was Cinder, back from the dead and ready to get revenge on the traitor who shot her in the back before an arrow lodged itself into the Fall Maiden's heart. Sometimes Mercury was there. They'd talk for hours before he would at random smother her with a pillow. 

The worst ones were the flashbacks to real events. Especially when they matched things she was about to do with Weiss.

_A soft piano played gently in the background. People chattered over dinner plates, not really looking at Emerald or Cinder._

_"Emerald, stop playing with your collar," she had murmured. "People will look."_

_"Sorry Ma'am."_

_"I want you to do something for me."_

_"A-anything."_

_"Get under the table. Hands and knees."_

She was lucky this time. She woke up before the worst parts had begun, where Cinder had ordered her under the table, using her Semblance to distract the entire restaurant long enough for Cinder to force her between her legs. Emerald's Semblance was taxing enough on one person when she could see them. An entire area she couldn't even see or hear? She damn near passed out from Aura depletion.

But she didn't think. She obeyed. Because that was what She wanted, and what She wanted, She got. 

Her scroll vibrated. Was it already six in the morning? She felt like she'd just laid her head down. It was Weiss, of course. 

_ Are you still OK for tonight? I can cancel if you'd like. _

Emerald looked at the dress hanging off the door opposite her. Custom made with sleeves and leggings in various shades of green and black that covered everything except her wrists, neck and heels. Everything else was... Hers. And would be Hers for a while yet.

Emerald looked back down at the scroll. 

Sure. Six, right?

The response was quick. 

_ Indeed. The meal is for half past, but the traffic may be a problem. I've also heard that it may rain, so I'll bring an umbrella. _

I'll be ready. Meet you at the door.

She put the scroll in its charge port, going to the bathroom. She used her Semblance to ignore her reflection as she washed herself, avoided making eye contact as she walked out and chose some loose clothes for the day. Avoided trying to see the faint echo of a handprint around her throat. 

Emerald had loved books as a kid. Libraries were always a place of solitude for her as a child, a place to lose herself for hours at a time, ignoring the pangs of hunger on days when her begging didn't leave her enough for a meal. It had been one of the few things she had not broken for her, so it was only of the few vestiges of her old life that she could stomach waking up to. She'd engorged herself on books, and a lot of her money these days went into her collection now. In places where she had yet to put up shelves, the novels were just stacked on the floor. 

Grabbing one at random, Emerald made some quick breakfast and curled up on the couch, losing herself to the text. 

* * *

 

Her scroll vibrated gently, snapping Emerald out of the book. She checked the time, cursing when she saw it was nearly five in the evening.

_From what Blake told me of your apartment, there's a lot of books there and you love to read. So forgive me for my brashness, but I felt giving you a shout to see if you were ready would be a good idea._

She sighed.

Right as usual. I'll be ready, don't worry. And don't apologize! I'm sorry.

Tossing the scroll on the couch, Emerald disrobed, taking the dress into the closet with her and missing the reply.

 _ For what? _

* * *

Five minutes to get the dress on snugly and covering up what wasn't hers to show, fifteen to get her hair right and ten for other preparations leaves her enough time to chat with Ruby for a little bit before a new message came from Weiss saying she was outside. 

Weiss smiled as Emerald closed the door behind her, leaning against the cab. "I told you you'd look beautiful in that dress."

"Guess we can add it to the laundry list of 'shit I was wrong about'," Emerald mumbled, kissing Weiss on the cheek. "And you look better."

Weiss made her look drab in comparison; a neon billboard to Emerald's candle in a windowsill. A stark white suit with a waistcoat and even a cravat to tie it all together. Emerald wondered, again, what Weiss saw in her. Because she sure as hell didn't see anything herself that She hadn't tainted.

"Let's get going," Weiss said, opening the taxi door for Emerald. "You liked seafood the last time we went out, so I think you'll love the menu."

Weiss, as usual, was unerringly correct in her assessment that traffic would be a hindrance as they drove through the city. Emerald rested her head against the window, passively observing the people as they walked by. Boys with girls and girls with girls and people alone in the crowd, her eyes widened a margin as she saw a head of dark hair-

* * *

 

_She'd tried to run, once. Soon after she realized what Cinder was going to do during the Vytal Festival, what she expected her to do. If she didn't trick Xiao-Long and Nikos, then the Grimm wouldn't attack and the Fall Maiden wouldn't die. So she tried to run. She got to the docks before an arm snaked around her throat, slamming her against an alley wall._

_"I am so very..._ disappointed _, Emerald," Cinder had said, eye blazing. "I thought we had something."_

_"No, please, I-" She sobbed as the grip on her throat tightened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run, just please."_

_She shushed her, finger on her lips. "Now Emerald, I don't discard my toys just because they have a moment of hesitation." The finger ran down her left arm, soothing her and making her shiver despite the circumstances. Growing steadily hotter..._

_Emerald gasped as the finger became a clasp on her arm, a sudden hissing sounding in the alley. Her sobs and screams of pain were swallowed into Cinders mouth as she kissed her, burning her forearm and making the flesh blacken and crackle. Just another scar for the collection._

_"But that_ doesn't _mean I forgive. I need your pretty little face and your mind for my plans. Not your arms." The burning ran down her right arm now, the pain nearly driving her mad as she buckled in Cinder's grasp._

_"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I just thought..." Emerald trailed off. She had to concentrate, use her Semblance-_

_Cinder slapped her, the sound echoing. "And therein lies the root of the problem. You thought. You mistook your place,_  yet again, _and here I am, correcting you again on this most important of days when I have so much else to do. That... vexes me, I must admit. But am I not so tolerant of you that I continue to correct you when you are wrong?" Emerald hesitated. "Say it," She growled. "Thank me for continuing to tolerate you."_

_"T-t... thank you Ma'am," Emerald sobbed, "for continuing to correct me when I am wrong. Thank you for tolerating me."_

_"No one would miss you," She cooed. "No one cares for you. You're gutter-trash I decided to give a purpose. So_ _now, when I tell you to obey, you_ do  _it with a_ smile. _Your place is not one where you_ think, _it is one where you **obey.**_ "

_A gentle hand on her cheek became another harsh slap that sent Emerald to the ground, hissing in pain as pressure was put on her burnt arm. Cinder looked down on her like dirt on her heel- that was what she was, after all. "Get up and get back to Beacon. The match starts soon."_

_She walked off, heels clicking on the cobblestones. Emerald lay there, shuddering. She deserved this, she rationalized. She stepped out of line and got put back into place. But  now she needed to move, needed to just get to the arena and trick Xiao-Long-_

_"Emerald? Oh God, Emerald!"_

_Footsteps running towards her, a concerned face with white hair and blue eyes._

_"Weiss?" She croaked. She tried to use her Semblance, but the pain kept overriding her commands._

_"Emerald, try not to move, I'll call an ambulance!"_

_"No, please..."_

_She lost consciousness._

* * *

Emerald snapped back to focus as Weiss gently tugged her arm. "We're here," the heiress said quietly. 

"Right, sorry." 

Weiss shook her head as they got out and she paid the driver. "Nothing to be sorry over." 

"Sorry," she mumbled out of impulse, earning a raised eyebrow in response as they walked in.

The restaurant was right beside the ocean, granting a stunning view from their booth. Drinks arrived soon, an on-the-house order from the manager after learning that two Huntresses were attending. Emerald had frowned at that, but said nothing. 

Weiss looked at her as the empty plates were taken away. "Did you get a new haircut?" She asked casually. 

"Um, yeah. Just, felt like a change."

"I like it," Weiss replied. "It brings out your eyes." 

Emerald blushed. "Flatterer."

"I prefer truth-teller." 

"I dunno," Emerald mumbled into her menu. "Let's agree to disagree." 

A pang of something crossed Weiss's face for a split second before it smoothed out. "Emerald... can we talk?"

"We're talking now."

"I meant about Cinder."

Emerald froze. "I..."

"I understand that it's not an experience you wish to remember. And Gods willing, I'll never have to suffer through something a fraction as bad as you did. And I know, I shouldn't be trying to force you to do this, but you need to talk about it with someone. You can't just lock yourself away and hope the world forgets about you."

"It's what I deserve," Emerald whispered. "I helped Cinder nearly kill the Fall Maiden, I killed people. I deserve to be locked up like Mercury, not having seafood with someone who could do so much better! Why, Weiss? Why are you doing this to yourself? You could have anyone you want and you're settling for me?"

"What if I desire you specifically?" Weiss countered. 

"Why? I'm a wreck. I only turned to your side at Beacon because Cinder would have killed me no matter what."

"You still shot her before she could kill Amber. You played as large a part as anyone in stopping her."

"Again, only because she would have killed me for screwing her plan."

"That's a lie." Weiss hesitated. "Well, no. Pardon my language, but Cinder seemed to be enough of a bitch that she would have likely hunted you down regardless. But I meant you're lying about why. You were better than Cinder, or Mercury, or Adam or Torchwick. Even Ruby could see you liked being around us."

"I..." Emerald looked away. "guess you guys just opened my eyes. Made me see what I was about to do. By that time, Cinder..." she took a shaky breath, "had me deep. I'd have... I _did_ kill for her. I was meant to trick Yang into seeing Mercury attack her if she lost. She'd shoot him, and then she'd be blamed for the attack."

Weiss nodded. "Is that why you tried to climb out of your hospital window to make it to the end of the match?"

"Yeah. And then when Nikos fought Penny, I was to make her see something that would make her use her Semblance- tear the robot to shreds in front of everyone, inciting panic and breaking the Invincible Girl."

"But you didn't do those things. Mercury didn't attack Yang, and Pyrrha won the fight fairly, no Semblance."

"But if I'd been there, that would have happened. If you hadn't come across me, I'd have done it. What does that say about me, that even after everything she did, I was willing to still serve her?"

"That you were in a bad place," Weiss replied, "but you helped us when we needed it. And that you might say those hurtful things about yourself, talk about how little you value yourself, but I care for you. I wouldn't be here if I didn't genuinely care for her."

"You wouldn't if you saw the real me." When Weiss paused, Emerald pressed on. "You think the scars healed that well? You think I've just not gotten really good at lying to myself?!"

Emerald pulled up her sleeve, exposing the remnants of burn scarring. "Emerald-"

She turned off her Semblance.

Weiss gasped, eyes widening in horror as the flesh became blackened and blistered, scars running up past the sleeve. "I never saw..." she whispered. "I thought it would have healed." 

"It doesn't stop at the arm. Cinder didn't like repeating lessons twice, and I often had to relearn my place."

Weiss muttered a curse behind her hand. 

Emerald laughed bitterly. "You still  _care_ for me, knowing I look like this? That I'm hideous?"

"How could you say that? Do you think I care so little? Why do you think I've stayed? Why do you keep going places with me if you don't want this?"

_"Because you're not her!"_

The shout carried through the restaurant.

"Because you have white hair and wear bright colors, while her hair was dark and she wore red. You use ice, her fire. When you kiss me, it's not to more easily grasp my throat. When I love you, it doesn't feel bittersweet. And you don't..." her voice cracked. "You never force me to... _to..._ "

_"Get under the table. Hands and knees."_

She took off running at the memory, sprinting out of the restaurant. 

"Emerald, wait!" Weiss called out, but she was long gone.

* * *

_Emerald regained consciousness to the sound of a heartbeat monitor and someone talking outside the room._

_"... Glad you showed up when you did. We haven't checked all of her body, but we've found numerous burns_   _along her arms and legs._

_A muted gasp._

_"Are you Emerald's partner? Are you on her team?"_

_"No, her partner was competing today in the Vytal Festival. My own teammate was fighting him."_

_"Then do you know who we could contact to let her know she's here?"_

_"Her partner, Cinder."_

_"Hmm." A pencil scratching on paper. "Miss Schnee, this may be a personal question, but do you know what this Cinder's Semblance is?"_

_"I think she once mentioned... fire manipulation."_

_"I see."_

_"Wait, you don't think-"_

_"When we were putting her into a hospital gown, we noticed numerous burn scars along the torso, arms and upper thighs. Her left arm was the priority, so we only did a cursory examination of the rest of her body. But some of the burns closely resemble handprints-"_

_Weiss let out a muttered curse._

_"... But she may not see this as abuse."  The doctor paused. "How would you describe their relationship?"_

_"I cannot say I've heard a bad word about Cinder come out of Emerald's mouth. She nearly worships the ground she walks on."_

_Because she deserves it, Emerald wanted to shout. She just did these things to her to make sure she learned her place._

_"This is disturbing. Emerald herself may not see this as abuse. Often, the abuser makes their victim dependent on them, to the point where they rationalize the abuse they receive."_

_No, no! The doctor was lying! It wasn't like that, she-_

_Footsteps clacked on the hallway._

_Weiss let out a muted gasp. "Professor Ozpin, I-"_

_"Doctor Hayden called me when Emerald arrived. He thought she was one of my students. Why are you still here, Weiss? Should you not be celebrating with Yang?"_

_"I can later. I didn't want Emerald to wake up alone. I've let my team know."_

_"Thank you Weiss."_

_Cinder never would have done that, a part of her whispered as she looked at the blackened flesh on her arm. Good people don't do this to those they claim to love._

_Emerald hesitated as the door opened, revealing Ozpin, Weiss and the doctor._

_"I'd advise being careful. Many of the scars failed to heal properly," Hayden said. Ozpin stood patiently by the door._

_"Emerald, how are you feeling? Do you need water?"_

_"I... what happened to the match?" She may not have been too late._

_"Yang, in a feat she will surely not shut up about for the rest of her life, took Mercury down. He looked so shocked that he lost that he just sat there as she walked away."_

_Because he was waiting for Yang to turn and open fire so he could act like he just lost his leg. Wait, that meant-_

_Oh no, Cinder was going to kill her. She'd failed her one time too many, and now she was going to suffer-_

_"Emerald?" Ozpin asked quietly. "Is everything alright? What can you tell us about your attacker?"_

_Emerald took a breath. Made a choice._

_"I have to tell you something," she told Ozpin. "You need to stop Cinder. She's going to burn Beacon down."_

* * *

 

Emerald kept running as the rain began to pour down, pounding through puddles and past people. She didn't know if Weiss was going to follow her or if she'd finally realize what a waste of time Emerald was and was letting her run herself to death. 

She stopped at a streetlight, panting heavily as the rain pounded down on her, mixing with her tears. 

She just wanted to  _die._ Cinder had been right in that alley. No one would miss her as she leaned on the streetlight, sliding down it until she was sitting. If the ground swallowed her now, no one would even notice.

"I would."

Emerald looked up, seeing Weiss standing a few paces from her, glyphs fading behind her, umbrella snapped open. She'd been thinking out loud again. 

"I would miss you," Weiss repeated. Her own eyes were rimmed red from tears. "I'm sorry for the horrors you experienced Emerald. But I'm not going to leave you. I made a promise to you in that hospital, didn't I?"

* * *

 

_Weiss's hand clutched Emerald's as she finished telling Ozpin Cinder's plan._

_"I have an idea," Ozpin said in a low, dangerous voice. "Miss Sustrai, I ask much of you, but I need your help."_

_He left, giving her time to mull over it._

_"I'm sorry for what you went through," Weiss said in a dull voice, thumb ghosting over one of the scars. Emerald focused through the pain, her Semblance making Weiss not see the scars._

_"Emerald?"_

_"What?"_

_"This may be brash of me, but allow me to make you a promise. I will help you through this."_

* * *

 

"You did," Emerald replied. "A dumb one. I'm broken. A parasite."

"That's what Cinder thought. You're not her."

"And maybe she's right?" Emerald rocked back and forth, ignoring the rain. "What do you see when you look at me? Because I see a pathetic little idiot who fell for the first person who gave the time of day and nearly helped them stage a terrorist attack!"

Weiss sniffled. "I see the person who despite their fear, helped us  _stop_ her abuser. I see the person who has been moving onward from that day, one step at a time." She hesitated. "I see the woman I've fallen in love with these past seven months." 

Emerald paused. That... that didn't make sense. She had to have misheard. Who would love her?

Weiss came forward, dropping to kneel in front of Emerald. A glyph held the umbrella above them as she took Emerald's hands in her own, kissing them gently.

"I love you Emerald." She rested her forehead against the illusionists', blue eyes looking into red. 

"I love you too," she whispered back, arms snaking out to hug Weiss and bring her close. If this was a dream, let her not wake up. 

She really was everything Cinder wasn't. Gentle, sweet, compassionate. Weiss would never raise a hand against her, never use her Semblance on her to 'make a point.' Emerald let out a shuddering breath she didn't know she'd been carrying since that day in the alley. 

"I'm sorry for storming out." 

"I'm sorry for bringing up Cinder." 

"Now who's apologizing?" Emerald managed to rasp out a chuckle.

Weiss gave her a flat look before chuckling. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to not catch my death of rain. Will we go?"

"I'd like to go home..." Emerald paused.

Weiss nodded slowly. "And?"

"... and I'd like you to come in with me."

"Oh." Weiss' eyes widened. " _Oh_." 

* * *

 

_Ozpin's plan was something Emerald could do easily. She felt awkward, setting a trap around the body of the woman she'd helped crippled, but this needed to work._

_Emerald's Semblance had a quirk to it. As easier as it was to hide someone or something from a person's view, it made it easier to give them a new target to focus on. So when Cinder came down that elevator shaft, her eyes flew right past Emerald and her new ally, focusing on Ozpin manning the Aura transfer with Amber and Nikos._

_In Cinder's eyes, the shot was perfect- right into Amber's heart. It would have been perfect, but for one thing._

_Emerald had put the Aura transfer machine several feet to the left, and the arrow flew harmlessly, scattering against the wall._

_She released part of the illusion, watching as Cinder turned back to face her._

_"Emerald. I am so... disappointed. What, did Ozpin offer a better deal?"_

_She stayed silent, thumbing back her revolver._

_"Ah well. One more body won't change anything."_

_She dropped the second half of the illusion, watching Cinder's face closely as Qrow Branwen appeared right behind Emerald, scythe fully extended. She'd savor that look for a long time to come. Qrow would be a challenge to a full Maiden, and Cinder had run when she had Mercury and Emerald at her side. This was frankly overkill._

_"This is for Amber," he growled, launching forward as Emerald drew and fired._

* * *

 

Emerald had never quite seen Weiss get a taxi as fast as she did that night, but soon they were back at Emerald's book-ridden apartment. Weiss looked around as Emerald grabbed some towels, muttering something about how Blake was under-selling the volume of texts here.

Em shut her up with a kiss, deep and lingering as she pulled off Weiss' jacket and cravat.

"We," she groaned into Weiss' mouth. "are overdressed. But I like this dress too much to tear it, so give me a second." 

Weiss chuckled, letting Emerald go as she got up and went back to her room. She could see the waistcoat being thrown over the couch.

Emerald's hands were steady as she pulled off the dress, staring at herself as more of her skin was exposed in the half-light. She shuddered.

"I can do this," she mouthed to herself, walking out into the living room where Weiss sat with her legs crossed. Neither was wearing a shred of clothes.

For a second, Weiss' eyes widened again as she took in the scars that ran along much of her body. Emerald reached for her Semblance out of habit, but Weiss shook her head as it kicked in. 

"No, no illusions. Come over here."

Emerald complied, straddling the sitting heiress as she let Weiss see her true from.

Weiss bit along her earlobe, leaving small markings that stretched from her lips to her ears. "You're beautiful," she breathed. 

And for the first time in her life, Emerald felt beautiful. As her back arched, mouth open in a silent yell as Weiss' fingers gently pressed deeper, she felt loved.

When she feel comfortably to sleep, Weiss' arm pulling her close, she felt content. 

* * *

**This was partly written because my friend GlitteringEva gave me the idea. At first it was gonna be Ruby being taken out somewhere fancy by a date (Either Weiss, Cinder or Pyrrha), being really uncomfortable with it before the date realizes and they just shoot the shit at a fast food diner instead. That may still happen, but I'll keep my options open. Eva had a much better idea of Weiss and Emerald, one of whom had a focus chapter and one of whom hasn't been a main character in any of the stories outside of being Cinder's abused puppy. So I can give Em one happy ending, albeit one she damn well earned.**

**The entire idea of Emerald not being over Cinder and it hurting her relationship with Weiss, while realistic is something I erred on doing. First, write what you know is good advice for a reason. Second being that after how I handled Emerald/Cinder in the Cinder chapter, I was worried it wouldn't work out so well again. Time will tell, I guess, but I feel better about this one.**

**June 20th covers school uniforms. This was gonna be a Cinder prompt, but after what I just wrote? Yeah, Cinder's not gonna get a happy ending.**


	16. School Uniform (Ruby/Pyrrha)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which when Pyrrha and Ruby are just too adorable for their own good.

**This is a sequel to the JNPR prompt. Most of these happen in third year, so Ruby's seventeen.**

* * *

 

Uniform:

Ruby and Pyrrha had been taking a study break, exams looming on the horizon. Their teams had taken the day off, having either already studied (Weiss, Blake, Jaune and Ren) or were leaving it to the last day since they worked best under pressure (Yang and Nora). They'd stopped for some frozen yoghurt (Pyrrha was a sticker for healthy eating), and Ruby had frozen as Pyrrha had daintily nibbled at the food.

Ruby was willing to admit she had a... thing for mouths. They were great for smiling, laughing, for giving kisses and being kissed. She also had a thing for Pyrrha, so Pyrrha eating something soft like yoghurt, her lips curling when it tasted good, the curvature of her throat as she swallowed... that was right up Ruby's alley. 

She'd become so enraptured, just watching Pyrrha, that she forgot that she was mid-bite until a  _squelch_ sounded in the small room. Ruby yelped as the yoghurt stained the front of her blazer. "Shoot! Sorry, I'll-" 

"Don't worry, I'll get a wet cloth." Pyrrha darted out to the kitchen, and Ruby could hear the hissing of the tap as she got some hot water.

Ruby groaned softly as her head fell into her hands. Because of course she'd screw this up. Of course she couldn't even eat without making a big screw up of things. What did Pyrrha see in her, Ruby had to wonder? She was small, clumsy on her feet, but most degrading of all, she was small. 

"Ruby," came the soft voice of the woman Ruby was thinking of at this moment, "I need you to move your arms. We can prevent staining if we work fast." 

Ruby compiled, trying to avoid blushing out of habit as the hot cloth dabbed her jacket and shirt where the yoghurt had fallen, trying to avoid how close Pyrrha was and how her breath was on her neck, trying to remember breathing at this exact moment.

Pyrrha leaned closer, the Invincible Girl devoted in full to solving this problem as perfectly as any other. 

"Well," she eventually said, Ruby politely ignoring how Pyrrha's breathing seemed a bit heavy, "You'll need to get out of the jacket and shirt before you catch a cold, but it shouldn't stain." 

"T-thanks Pyrrha." Ruby leaned in, a tentative kiss on the cheek. The two lingered, noses nearly touching before Pyrrha's hand on the back of her head drew her back in for a deeper, more lingering kiss.

The next few minutes were a blur- Pyrrha kissing her, Pyrrha helping her take off her jacket  _holy crow she may have been about to have sex with Pyrrha fricking Nikos_ \- before Pyrrha came up for air. Of course she was on top.

"Pyrrha, I- I need a minute. I'll be right back." Sans a top, Ruby slipped out from under Pyrrha, dashing into the bathroom. She threw some water in her face. She stared at herself in the mirror, taking in the lines going down her throat to her collarbone from Pyrrha's mouth, her blown eyes and ragged breathing. 

"You can do this!" She whispered furiously to herself. "So do it!"

She left the room, freezing solid as she took in Pyrrha lounging on the bed with a come-hither look.

Ruby had been in the bathroom maybe thirty seconds. Pyrrha had completely stripped in that time.

"Are you going to leave me here in the cold?" Pyrrha pouted.

"Oh momma." Ruby whispered. Before her brain went the way of the dodo, Ruby left her cape hanging on the outside door handle, hoping that her team would get the signal to  _stay the fuck out._

She dashed over to the bed.

* * *

Pyrrha practically had to crawl out of Ruby's room, where the shorter girl was sleeping soundly, and into the JNPR dorm. She currently had no feeling in her left leg, her chest was covered in scratches and hickeys, and her hair looked like a bomb had gone off in it.

She hadn't felt this good in  _years._

She was hoping for a quiet place to take in the litany of bite marks and scratches decorating her body. What she got was Blake, Weiss and JNPR all trying to look casual as they appraised her.

"So..." Nora trailed off. Pyrrha leaned over, whispered something into her ear. 

Nora's face lit up. "She tapped dat booty!"

The room filled with roars of approval, Pyrrha getting complimentary slaps on the back as a beer keg was manifested out of nowhere and popped open.

"Wait," she eventually called out. "Where's Yang?" 

In the distance, a plume of fire rose into the sky, followed by a bellowing roar of rage.

"Stress relief," Blake deadpanned. 

 

* * *

Confrontation:

Yang found Pyrrha in the locker room after combat class, getting changed back into her uniform. "Pyrrha. We need to talk." 

Pyrrha closed her locker, smiling at Yang. "Hello Yang! How can I help you?"

"Look, you and Ruby... you're getting close. Close enough that if things go south, it's gonna hurt." She stepped closer to the redhead. "So trust me, don't hurt my sister, or you will regret it." 

A variety of emotions crossed Pyrrha's face at the statement, before another wide, beaming smile came across her face. "I'm so glad you're so protective of Ruby! She must be so proud to have a sister like you!" 

Yang blinked as Pyrrha carried on, one thought crossing the blonde's mind.  _How could anyone be angry at this soul?_

Yang gently pulled Pyrrha into a hug. "I will protect you with my life," she proclaimed. 

How the lecturer had become the enlightened was lost on Yang, but she was too busy protecting the veritable cinnamon bun that was her sister's girlfriend. 

"Actually Yang," Pyrrha choked out. "I did have a question for you about Ruby." 

"Anything." 

"Well, I was with Ruby last night, and she asked for permission for something." 

"Yeah...?"

"Well..." Pyrrha blushed. "She asked if I wouldn't mind being called Mommy by her."

Yang hit the floor. 

* * *

Pyrrha strode out of the locker room, leaving the dazed Yang. Ruby leaned against the wall opposite the door.

"She fell for the mommy king thing?" The shorter girl asked, having appropriated a pair of Yang's sunglasses.

"Like I fell for you," the hoplite smiled, enjoying the flustered reaction from Ruby. The two walked off, hand in hand.

 

* * *

 

Cooking:

RWBY and JNPR had decided to use a glorious summer day as a chance for a barbecue. Ruby and Pyrrha had late classes, so the two wound up running late and missed the first round of food (At their behest, they didn't want to delay anyone). Not to worry, there was plenty left over that just needed to be heated up, alongside the desserts.

Everyone had conspicuously left the two to make their food, sharing nudges and winks. 

"I hope we have enough pancakes," Ruby mumbled to herself. "Nora's gonna go through a ton of them on her own. Hope they don't go cold." 

Pyrrha flipped some burgers, sliding behind Ruby to tuck her hands around the smaller girl's waist. "Don't worry, by the time she finishes them and we've eaten, it'll be time to head back." She rested her head on Ruby's, hands intertwining as she helped flip the pancakes. 

Ruby turned, a sly smile on her face as she pulled Pyrrha down to her level. Silver eyes met green as Ruby's hands circled around the back of Pyrrha's neck. 

This close, Pyrrha caught a hint of something on Ruby's breath. Her eyes caught an empty tube of chocolate sauce on the table behind her girlfriend. "Ruby," she said flatly. "I was gone three minutes, don't tell me-"

Ruby kissed her. On impulse, Pyrrha's hands ran up her back, stopping at the shoulder-blades and pulling her closer in, like she wanted to unite them as one being-

Ruby pulled back, eyes still closed and smirking. "Did you already have a pancake and ate all the chocolate sauce?" Pyrrha finished. Her tongue ghosted along her lips, enjoying the sight of Ruby's eyes darkening as they tracked the pink appendage. 

"Wha-what can I say," the shorter girl stammered, "chocolate kisses are the best?" 

Pyrrha chuckled, going back to the grill. She tasted the sauce on her lips, smiling. "Yeah," she muttered, shooting Ruby another smile as she loaded the plates.

An idea came unbidden to her mind- Pyrrha, on Ruby's bed, with chocolate sauce body paint and little else.

She wondered if she could get Velvet to take the pictures. 

* * *

 

Inquisition:

Pyrrha had had a long day, and was going to be glad to see her bed, but was surprised to see Qrow sitting on the desk, perched on it like a bird.

Ren, following Pyrrha, at this point noticed Pyrrha's Aura flare up as she strapped on a bulletproof vest. "Pyrrha, are you wearing your armor?"

Pyrrha looked away, blushing. Ren shrugged and looked towards Qrow. "Mister Branwen, we were expecting Ozpin-"

The sound of velcro as the armor was applied took Ren from his train of thought. 

"Gentlemen," Qrow snarled. "We're not going to sit here, and pretend there isn't a huge-ass Borbatusk in the room." 

"What the hell is going on?" Ren asked, eyes darting between Pyrrha and Qrow.

Qrow opened his scroll, throwing it onto the table. "This is what the hell is going on!"

It was pictures of Ruby and Pyrrha. Some were innocent and just the two laughing, others saw them about to get more passionate. One in particular seemed to be Pyrrha in nothing but chocolate body paint, smirking at the camera. Ren looked between the pictures, at Pyrrha's blush, and Qrow's murderous intent as he loaded a gun.

_Persona 5 OST- Last Surprise (Chorus)_

The penny dropped right as the microwave chimed.

"OH SHIT!" Ren leaped off his bed. "Oh SHIT!" He started laughing like a hyena, ducking his head into Pyrrha's shoulder. "This is NOT happening right now!"

Ren left the room, cackles following him as he saw the rest of RWBY and JNPR sitting around in the main room. "Guys! Pyrrha's fucking Qrow's daughter!"

Ruby and Yang looked at each other, both growing pale as the rest of the team began to laugh with Ren.

"Every time he says that," Qrow growled to a steadily shrinking Pyrrha, "I'll put another bullet in you."

Pyrrha opened her mouth to reply, only to gawk as Ren climbed out from a window onto the windowsill of the dorm room's window, slapping the glass.

"This is the best thing ever!" He mouthed, Qrow's eye continuing to twitch.

Clambering onto the balcony, Ren sang out to the teams below. "Pyrrha fucked Branwen's daughter! _Pyrrha fucked the teacher's daughter! Pyrrha fucked the teacher's daughter! Pyrrha fucked the teacher's daughter!"_

Qrow kept glaring. Pyrrha gulped.

Climbing in the window, Ren continued his little song and dance for a short time, slapping the desk while still laughing. "Pyrrha, _you bragged to Qrow's face_ that you had sex with his daughter! To that face, you bragged to that face! Mister Branwen, _you congratulated her_ for fucking your daughter! That's-"

Qrow slammed his shotgun on the desk. Ren sat back down.

"Really not that funny," he finished, back to his calm exterior. 

"T-t-to be fair," Pyrrha stammered out. "Ruby was the one who came on to me?"

"To be fair," Qrow snarled, "I haven't bisected you yet!"

"I'm sorry! If I'd known you'd react this way, I wouldn't have done it!"

"Oh, so now my daughter isn't good enough for you because of her parentage?"

"Yes! I mean No! I mean... fuck..."

"That's what you did to Ruby," Ren muttered impulsively. 

Pyrrha narrowed her eyes. "Well that's what you did to Yang."

Qrow leaned forward, eyes glinting dangerously. " _Really_ , Mister Ren?"

"OK, OK," Ren held up a hand. "We're getting off topic. What if, Mister Branwen, you got to punch Pyrrha, one time, in the face,  _really_ hard?" 

"No," a smile crossed Qrow's face; a sick, twisted smile that likely only his worst enemies saw in their dying moments. "I've got something planned."

Pyrrha's screams, followed by the sound of a taser discharging, echoed through the campus halls. Ren was very glad at this exact moment that his relationship with Yang was far less noteworthy than Pyrrha and Ruby. 

* * *

**I had a lot of fun with the JNPR prompt back at the start of this, and I did always want to go back to it (Look, if I went back for the STRQ prompt it's only fair). I had a lot of fun writing this... until the draft got lost and I needed to rewrite it. That was fun. But this was fun to write.**

**But yeah, I love Ruby, the little ball of sunshine with repressed psychological trauma.**

**June 21st prompt is a Faunus character. It's most likely gonna be Velvet, but I'll see.**


	17. Faunus Character (Blake/Yang)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Random Bumblebee moments

First Date and Kiss:

"You're having a good time," Yang teased. "Don't deny it." 

Blake tried and failed to hide the smirk on her face as Yang tugged her along the promenade. A carnival was in town for the weekend, and Yang had refused to take no for an answer. The rest of RWBY and JNPR were somewhere around here, but Yang couldn't care less about that. 

Because unlike Ruby, who blushed like a stoplight whenever anyone teased her about her dates, Yang could roll with the punches. If Blake wanted to treat this like a date, then it was a date. If she just wanted to hang, then so shall it be.

"Ohh, look, a shooting gallery! Come on Blake, let's show these plebs how to shoot properly!"

"Says the one with shotgun gauntlets," Blake muttered into her ear, breath tickling the lobe. "You just spray and pray." 

"Fine, show the rest of us what it takes to shoot, _madam!_ " 

The Faunus' eyes narrowed into slits. "Oh, now you did it." 

She cleaned house with the shoddy rifle provided, the targets barely surfacing before Blake had a pellet in between their cartoon eyes. Yang watched, cheering on as Blake got score after score with unerring precision. It was a little hot, the blonde had to admit to herself. As Qrow had jokingly offered as dating advice, "Get someone who can slot a high-caliber round between your eyes from a mile off."

Blake won the prize, a large plush Ursa that nearly toppled her over. "I don't need this," her voice came muffled from the fur. "Ruby's birthday is coming up, right?"

Yang nodded, taking a second to realize that Blake couldn't see before before vocalizing an affirmation.

"Think she'll like it?"

"Have you met Zwei? Ruby adores cute stuff, especially something big enough for her to curl into."

Taking the giant Ursa out of Blake's hands, Yang dashed over to a courier service to get it delivered- the night was young and they had so much more to do.

* * *

Yang stared aghast at her partner, like she had just announced "You thought I was Blake, but is was me, Neo!"

"You've never ridden a rollercoaster," she whispered in horror.

"Didn't have a lot of opportunities as a kid," Blake shrugged. 

Yang shook her head. Well we're gonna fix that, come on!" 

"Yang, we just ate, hold on!-" But it was no use- Yang's hand wrapped around Blake's slender digits, pulling her to the queue. 

"If I throw up on this shirt," Blake said in a low voice, "I will make you suffer."

"What're you gonna do," Yang shot back, "Tie me up and tease me into madness?" 

Blake blushed. Yang stared. 

"Oh. You mean, you've thought about..." 

"Yeah?" Blake squeaked like a mouse. Yang seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, before that cocky smirk was back on her face. 

"Well, you'll have to buy me dinner first. And make it to the third date." She snapped her fingers. "But hey! One down, two to go!"

"Wait, you mean-" 

"Yeah! I mean, I like ya. You've at least thought about it. Let's give it a whirl." 

The queue pressed forward, Blake attempting to stammer a reply as they were locked into the chairs. 

Blake, as it turned out, was a screamer- Bad Yang, bad choice of words! She was someone who screamed all the time on rollercoasters, eyes wide. It was funny to Yang- Blake had dropped greater heights with nothing but the hope of Gambol Shroud landing in someone for her to grapple off of, but here she was acting... adorable.

Yang couldn't help but kiss her right as they passed by the photo finish, slipping a hand free to cup Blake's face. The other hand came free to flip off Ruby as she cheered.

* * *

Making up after a fight:

Blake stared at the hole in the wall. It had been a nice wall- she was planning on putting a painting there. And then Yang had punched it. With her gauntlets.

"Are you happy now?" She asked dryly.

"I said I was sorry," Yang replied, head on the table. "And you're no better." 

Yang gestured towards the ceiling fan, where Gambol Shroud was still stuck on the edge, spinning around the room.

"But when I have a temper tantrum, it doesn't mean we need to hire a repairman."

"Blake, you shot first!"

"I told you not to make another cat pun! And why do you still have that laser pointer?!"

"But I _am_ a pussy magnet!"

"I WARNED YOU!" Blake roared, grabbing Gambol Shroud out of the air and charging again. 

* * *

Goodwitch stared at Blake and Yang in Ozpin's office, arms crossed. "And that's how you leveled your dormitory?" 

Yang nodded. 

Goodwitch sighed. "I wish I could say this is the most petty reason for a dormitory destruction... but I remember your parents, miss Xiao-Long. We'll sort something out while I repair the damages." She looked at Blake. "Do you have anything to say miss Belladonna?" A slight smirk came to her face. "What, does the cat have your tongue?" 

"FIGHT ME!" Blake roared as Yang dragged her to the elevator. "I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!"

The two left, taking an elevator back to the lobby. Both refrained from eye contact as it went slowly down. 

"Sorry for the cat puns," Yang mumbled out of the corner of her mouth. 

"Sorry for punting your sister out of a window." 

"Eh, she landed on Weiss," Yang shrugged. "She'll live." 

"So..." Blake trailed off. "What now?" 

"Wanna catch a movie while waiting for the fixer?" 

Blake smiled, hand snaking out to hold Yang's hand. "Sure." 

 

* * *

Domestic Morning/Evening:

Blake always wakes up first, gently prying herself out of Yang's grasp (She always wound up being big spoon no matter who slept where), and slipping into the bathroom to hog the hot water. Yang would be stirring awake as Blake left, would make some sleepy-sounding cracks about Blake forgetting her towel as the Faunus strutted around the bedroom to get clothes. Blake always enjoyed watching Yang's gaze darken as she bent over (It was partly why they had so many mirrors), stepping out into the kitchen as Yang got her own shower done. 

Breakfast was largely whatever they felt like having that they had, which wasn't a lot since Yang ate a lot and Nora often came over. Yang scrolled through some meme pages on her scroll while Blake read the news. 

On nights when they weren't going out, Blake would read a book, using Yang as a large cushion. Sometimes Fluffy The Hugger (Ruby's name for the Ursa plush) came over and it was "a big fluffy three way," to quote Yang. Yang would read over Blake's shoulder, offering remarks as she did so. 

When they went to bed, sometimes with Fluffy joining, it didn't matter if Blake went to bed after Yang. She'd always wake up with Yang curled around her like a python. She'd never complain, though. Yang was taller, anyway. 

* * *

Drunk Cat leads the KINGS GAME:

Yang frowned as she looked at the drinks menu before her. "Are you sure this is the place Weiss? These orders are... pretty pricey." 

"It's fine Yang," the heiress replied. "I was booked for a concert here last year but a freak storm knocked the power out. They promised that when I could come back, everything would be on the house!"

"So let's get our DRINK ON!" Nora bellowed, downing a shot.

Pyrrha leaned in to Yang. "Do you wish to tell her they don't serve alcoholic drinks here?" 

"Let her have this," Yang muttered back, watching as Blake tore through several lined up drinks. 

"We're gonna drink this place dry!" Ruby yelled, slapping Ren's back. The ninja was still on his first drink.

"Hey Ren?" Ruby propped her head on Ren's shoulder, ignoring Nora suddenly sobering up to glare at the scythe master, "Wanna get up there and rock some socks with karaoke?" 

Ren decided to save Ruby's life at this point, politely pushing her off. "I'm fine Ruby. Maybe later?"

"Um, Weiss?" Yang asked. "You're  _sure_ that you made clear to tell them not to give us alcohol?" 

"I'm..." Weiss tapped her chin. "I feel like I did..." 

Yang sighed wearily. "Hoo boy." She turned to Blake. "You doing OK-"

Blake leaned her head towards Yang, musky amber eyes glittering in the light. She chuckled. "I'm doing _just fine._ "

And then Blake took her coat off, leaving her in effectively a black tank-top that left little to the imagination. Yang's heart skipped a beat.

Blake finished her drink, passing the glass to Yang. "Fill 'er up."

Yang complied, watching in a mixture of bemusement and horror as she, Jaune and Ren- the self-proclaimed party girl and... well OK, Ren staying sober was expected, and Jaune was probably too savvy to get drunk around everyone else when they had their scrolls- chose to refrain from the hard alcohol.

Weiss cackled as she finished her latest drink. "Time for an honored Atlas tradition- the King's Game!"

Ren caught Yang's eye as he mouthed "Bullshit." She snickered.

"Yang! Get me some chopsticks."

"Oh to hell with this," Yang muttered, only to be interrupted by someone dropping chopsticks with colored tips into Weiss's hands.

"Blake..." Yang trailed off. "Why were you carrying chopsticks? _Where_ were you carrying them?" Blake's leather pants left little to the imagination in the low light of the club.

"The Queen's orders are absolute," the Faunus purred.

"You're so sweet," Weiss said, voice raising like she was talking to Zwei.

Ren groaned, face falling into his hands.

Weiss brandished the chopsticks. "Ta-da! Everyone pick your number!"

The chopsticks were handed about to everyone, various looks of excitement and apprehension on people's faces.

"I got the red one!" Ruby cackled, "So I'm Queen!"

"Oh no," Pyrrha mumbled.

"And as your firm but tyrannical Queen, I order Ren... to come and suck face!"

"Now hang on Ruby!" Ren scrambled back.  

"Come on Ren," Ruby tried to be sultry, eyes widening in an accidental move to make her look cute. "You've had your eyes on me for a long time. You win. My innocence is yours! SO PUCKER UP!"

Yang struggled to avoid cracking her glass in her hand as Nora vaulted onto the table, scrambling to pull Ruby away. 

"No, Nora, I'm not reciprocating- NORA MY SPINE!"

"Well, one down!" Weiss said cheerily as Nora retook her seat, leaving Ren broken on the floor. "Now DRAW!"

_Persona 3 OST- Mass Destruction_

Blake snatched Yang's shades out of her pocket, pushing them on with her index finger as she tossed her matchstick into the air. 

She snatched it. "I'm the Queen!" She declared. 

Yang crossed her legs. "I-I request reasonable demands..." she stammered. 

"What, after suckin' face?" Weiss slurred. "You gotta go bigger than that!" 

"Nora's right!" Pyrrha added added. "Sit on 'er lap!" 

"Yeah..." Ruby nodded. 

"Or maybe..." Weiss leaned in. "We should spoon!" 

Jaune sighed, hitting the record button on his scroll. "Shoot me now." 

Blake sauntered over to a dartboard, plucking one of the darts out. Walking back to the table, she span on her heel, tossing it over her shoulder in an offhand gesture. Yang watched as Blake's abs managed to ripple from the act, a bead of drool slowly tricking out her mouth. 

Bullseye. 

Blake turned to the girls, hands on her hips. "Ladies? My lap is yours," she proclaimed. 

 

* * *

Drunk Dragon:

"Yang's just been sitting there for fifty minutes," Pyrrha whispered. Blake, who was sober, watched as Yang just... stared at the wall, nearly unblinking. 

"How much did she have to drink?" Ren asked. 

"I don't actually know. She managed to out-drink Nora!" Blake looked over at Nora, slung over a couch, snoring loudly. 

"But she's just been sitting there?" Ruby asked. 

"Yeah." Pyrrha nodded. "She's breathing, responds to stimuli. But she just keeps sitting there. We figured you could talk to her." 

"I'll give it a shot," Blake replied. She grabbed a chair, scraping it along the floor to where Yang was sitting. "Hey honey." 

"Hey Blakey." She didn't sound drunk. She seemed... subdued. Quiet. It deeply unsettled Blake.

"So what's up? You've been sitting here." 

"Just... thinking." 

That was more unsettling. "About anything in particular?" 

"Well..." Yang sighed, not breaking her staring contest with the wall. "Do you ever wonder why we're here?" 

"Um..." Blake looked behind her at the teams, hoping for some kind of help. The only assistance was a collection of shrugs and mouthed 'What the fuck's. "I suppose it's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it?" 

"Well, I guess, but why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a God watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. Why would a God create a world as beautiful as this and allow it to become tainted with the Grimm? Why would there be a God who allows a world where teenagers become killing machines?" Yang shook her head. "I don’t know, man, but it keeps me up at night."

"Huh." Blake looked at her hands. "Do you... wanna talk about it some more?" 

"Nah."

"You sure, Yang?" 

"Yeah." Yang yawned, resting her head on Blake's shoulder. "I was thinking of just waiting in this spot until you showed up so I could sleep on your shoulder, honeybee."

"Or I could just... carry you to bed and you wouldn't get a crick in your neck."

"I like that," Yang mumbled into her neck.

Blake smiled, gently picking up Yang in a bridal carry (Ignoring the soft squeals of joy from whoever was left conscious) and bringing her up to bed. Tucking her in, Blake got changed and got into bed behind Yang.

"Finally," she murmured as she fell to sleep. "I'm the big spoon."  

Blake woke up the next morning with Yang's arms wrapped around her stomach.

"Yang, seriously,  _how the hell?_ "

She was smiling as she said it, though. 

 

 

 

* * *

**Blake... hoo boy, I'm not gonna make any friends by saying I have very mixed opinions on Blake, namely because of her running away all the damn time. But I still like her, even though it's with a big dot afterwards that goes into detail on that 'like.' But hey, people like the Beez, so here ya go. I can get behind it if they make it canon.**

**June 22nd will cover Lie Ren, and I have... plans for Ren and Nora's Bizzare Adventures.**

**Author's Note:**

> [I'm on Tumblr.](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard) You can send me prompts there if you wish.
> 
> You can find the Art Challenge [here.](http://ellelehman.tumblr.com/post/161282844626/evebun-sullivantwissarcana-rwby-fan-its)


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